Abstract

The sharing economy is currently the single largest disrupter traditional tourist firms have ever experienced (Sundararajan, 2016). Two segments of the sharing economy, in particular, are impacting tourism cities: peer-to-peer (P2P) accommodation (e.g. Airbnb) (Belarmino & Koh, 2020) and ridesharing (e.g. Uber) (Schneider, 2017). Through an examination of current academic literature as well as examination of recent popular press accounts of changes and challenges to the sharing economy, this chapter will provide a summary of the history of the sharing economy in tourism cities including a timeline and a series of mini-case studies reflecting on the impact of the sharing economy in different parts of the world. Through an examination of the legal challenges and changes in regulations, this chapter will provide a series of recommendations for policy makers.