Airbnb as a Tourism Supply Chain Champion for Small Businesses

Abstract

Airbnb is viewed as an advocate of small micro medium enterprises (SMMEs) in order to boost their revenue. Furthermore, in 2016, Airbnb released a report stating that its community generated R2.4 billion in economic activity in SA, which is the estimated sum of guest spending and host income. It is important to elucidate that SA's tourism fraternity has been amongst the best performing sectors amid the challenges it is faced with. The sharing economy concept requires all tourism stakeholders to work together (public-private partnership) in order to see its fruition. The sharing economy represents the power of the collaborative consumption and become a means to create an additional value chain for the tourism industry by decreasing the barriers of entry. The Airbnb Africa Academy is a pro-poor skills development and support initiative that was piloted in South Africa, and it has increased access and the success of hosts on the Airbnb platform.