SHARED space providers including Airbnb and WeWork will surpass ride-sharing providers Uber and Lyft by 2019 in terms of revenue, according to new data from UK-based Juniper Research.
Juniper’s latest research, Sharing Economy: Opportunities, Impacts and Disruptors 2016-2020, said that shared space platforms such as Airbnb are allowing users to rent rooms in residential properties at rates often undercutting traditional hotel rooms, disrupting the leisure and tourism industry significantly. Their revenues are set to grow from an estimated US$2.3 billion in 2015, to US$6.1 billion globally by 2019.
The research discovered that the ease of use provided by Airbnb in terms of no-nonsense booking, as well as the financial rewards available to registered property owners, will see a surge in both listings and bookings.
It warned that the forecast growth in the shared space industry will hold significant concern for the hotel industry, where in many cases shared space providers are not bound by the same rules and regulations as traditional establishments, leading them to undercut pricing and avoid restrictions.
Research author Lauren Foye explained: “The shared space industry, which includes provider Airbnb, is set to significantly impact the hotel industry, with consumers set to spend over US$34 billion in 2020. That sum represents approximately six per cent of today’s global hotel industry market size.”
As for Uber, it said the company is bent on expansion no matter the cost.
“While Uber has struggled to gain a significant foothold in China, largely due to the dominance of taxi hailing service Didi Kuaidi, Uber is not without the determination and the means to force its way into new markets. Uber has reportedly spent US$1 billion per year on expansion in China alone. In addition, it has recently set its sights on disrupting the huge motorbike taxi industries of India and Thailand, displaying a willingness and drive to aggressively obtain market share.”
Uber’s February announcement that it is to launch its UberMOTO service in India, opens it to an enormous potential market – the city of Bangalore alone has 3.5 million registered motorbikes, and India already allows motorbike taxi bookings through applications in two states.
