The six challenges of platform-based short-term rental accommodation in rural landscapes: evidence from the Byron hinterland, NSW Australia

Abstract

The global growth of short-term rental accommodation (STRA) through peer-to-peer accommodation platforms (P2PAPs) such as Airbnb, has received considerable public and regulatory attention. However, little is known about how such platforms are impacting rural landscapes, especially in high-amenity regions typified by intense land use competition and agricultural change. This article addresses this knowledge gap through examining the regulatory challenges being presented by P2PAPs in the Byron hinterland on NSW’s North Coast. We identify six core regulatory challenges for authorities charged with managing these issues. These are: (1) managing the loss of productive agricultural land; (2) preserving biophysical integrity in high-value environmental and agricultural landscapes; (3) controlling inadvertent densification of the countryside; (4) managing intensified potential for land use conflicts; (5) regulating temporary dwellings used for STRA, and (6) what to do with unauthorised and illegal structures. We argue that, in the Byron hinterland at least, these challenges have arisen because existing planning frameworks have failed to keep pace with the evolving platform economy. We contend that planning authorities must be proactive in resolving these challenges so that the P2PAP sector can promote rural diversification without compromising the rural landscapes that make them attractive to STRA in the first place. Practitioner Pointers: The growth of short-term rental accommodation in high-amenity rural areas has presented new challenges for planning authorities charged with protecting rural amenity and agricultural production in these landscapes. Existing planning frameworks have struggled to manage these new challenges, creating arenas of confusion and contradiction between varying regulatory instruments. Planners and policymakers must adopt proactive approaches that ensure the expansion of this sector remains compatible with the integrity of planning objectives relating to rural landscapes, and do not unnecessarily inhibit farmers’ abilities to maintain agricultural production.