Thailand’s Regulatory Modified for Sharing Economy Development: Airbnb case study

Abstract

Sharing economy, a new kind of economic system that gives an opportunity for the people to invest in their existing asset via digital platforms is becoming very popular and growing exponentially in recent years. This new kind of economic not just change the way of doing business in many sectors but also change consumer behavior in many aspects. The one example of this phenomenon is the Airbnb which is the platform that open house and room owners to rent out their properties online. Airbnb reshape not only the nature of accommodation and tourism businesses but also tourist behavior. Nevertheless, the present regulations that relate to this new kind of economic activity don’t suit the sharing economy. In fact, the backwardness of regulation creates the negative externalities of sharing economy rather than the positive. This article tries to study the impact of Airbnb, as a case study of sharing economy, to the society and also analyzes the beneficiary groups surrounding the Airbnb. Moreover this article study regulations in Thailand that enforce on Airbnb and reviews the experience of regulating the Airbnb in Japan and England which is the countries that has outstanding regulation on Airbnb. The purpose of this article is to propose the modification of Thai’s regulation in order to create positive impact from Airbnb including facilitating the tourism, increasing taxation revenue, creating justice in accommodation business, protecting the consumer and promoting the local economy.