The impact of peer-to-peer accommodation on place authenticity : A placemaking perspective

Place and place experiences play a role in both the tourism industry more broadly and peer-to-peer accommodation networks such as Airbnb specifically. Peer-to-peer accommodation platforms are a cornerstone of smart cities and the sharing economy; their impact on place and placemaking is still largely untested, with evidence that an indiscriminate commercial focus on tourism growth can affect the habitability of cities and the quality of public space. This chapter presents a critical assessment to rethink the impact that peer-to-peer accommodation networks have on place experiences and placemaking, focusing on three themes: (a) the urban ecosystem, (b) place authenticity and “localhood, " and (c) a city’s diversity advantage. As a way to illustrate our argument and to ground it in an empirical case, we introduce firsthand place and tourism experiences from the city of Split in Croatia. We synthesize our argument across the three themes with a view to expand transdisciplinary knowledge into urban studies and smart cities. The chapter concludes with emerging recommendations for placemaking approaches, policy, and regulatory reform as well as industry and platform innovation.