■Airbnb發展迅速，甚至與羅浮宮合作，讓旅客在特別打造的金字塔臥房住宿一晚。 資料圖片【原文】民宿網站Airbnb以共享經濟（sharing economy）理念營運，創辦人當初的構想，是讓旅客以較低廉價錢，短期租住當地居民空出的房間，屋主亦可賺取額外收入。自2008年成立至今，Airbnb已有超過600萬個單位出租，遍及全球逾8.1萬個城市。但蓬勃發展背後卻帶來嚴峻社會問題，愈來愈多聲音指Airbnb推升樓價（property price）和租金（rental cost），甚至有人設立「airbnbhell.com」網站，直譯為「Airbnb地獄」，分享Airbnb房客、房東或鄰居遭受噪音滋擾（noise nuisance）等不快經歷。
平均每晚有200萬人入住在Airbnb出租的民宿，自創立以來已有約5億人光顧。財經雜誌《福布斯》（Forbes）估計，公司估值達310億美元（約2,422億港元），現時更準備申請上市。而Airbnb的營運模式（operating model），亦引來大型企業仿效，包括希爾頓（Hilton）及萬豪（Marriott International）等大型酒店集團，均計劃發展民宿業務。
倫敦（London）、巴黎（Paris）和紐約（New York）現時擁有最多Airbnb出租單位，以全球樓價數一數二的倫敦為例，Airbnb有超過7.7萬個單位，自2015年以來上升3倍，每年有220萬人租住，去年為當地經濟帶來13億英鎊（約126億港元）收益。但當局認為經濟收益與當地居民生活必須取得平衡，因此決定加以規管，市長簡世德（Sadiq Khan）4月實施新措施，規定短期出租物業每年最多只可出租90晚。Airbnb發言人表示支持簡世德的做法，但其他出租民宿平台卻未有嚴格遵守。
紐約約有5萬個Airbnb單位，政府為免對長期住屋供應構成影響，對Airbnb房東（landlord）實施嚴格規管，甚至曾控告一批地產代理公司（real estate broker）利用Airbnb放租130個單位，令市內二手房屋供應減少，索償2,100萬美元（約1.64億港元）。住屋權益組織「紐約社區變革」（New York Communities for Change）直指，當地有多達7萬名露宿者，卻同時有數以萬計單位被當成酒店房間出租。Airbnb則反駁稱，部分紐約政界人士受酒店業說客（lobbyist）影響，甚至收取大型酒店的金錢，協助限制出租民宿行業，指任何限制只會打擊中產人士的收入來源。
蘇格蘭（Scotland）首府愛丁堡（Edinburgh）的獨特節慶、文化及藝術氛圍，吸引世界各地遊客到來，當地Airbnb房間數目近年急劇增加。經營Airbnb及短期民宿的迪金斯（Louise Dickins）認為，Airbnb帶來大量遊客，令當地湧現更多優質的餐廳及商店，並創造就業機會。關注組織「公民」（Citizen）創始成員斯莫爾（Mike Small）卻提到，大量旅客湧入影響當地居民生活，不少公共空間被私有化（privatization），「Airbnb不受規管，只會為舊城區帶來混亂（chaos）。」
收入可觀是帶動Airbnb急速擴張的原因之一，以西班牙（Spain）巴塞羅那（Barcelona）為例，市議員桑斯（Janet Sanz）坦言，「若向旅客出租房屋，每周可賺取3,000歐元（2.6萬港元），出租予市民則每月只有800歐元（約6,972港元），營運Airbnb當然更吸引。」
Neighbors from hell - Airbnb sees a rebound in Europe and America
【譯文】The homestay website Airbnb, which operates under the concept of sharing economy, upholds the founding principle of facilitating travelers to rent the vacant houses of local residents on a low-cost, short-term basis, as well as letting homeowners earn extra income. Since its establishment in 2008 up till now, the website has listed more than 6 million accommodations across 81,000 cities globally. Yet, the flourishing Airbnb is reportedly bringing about serious social problems, such as pushing up property prices and rental costs; and the website "airbnbhell.com", literally translated as "Airbnb hell", is even set up for sharing among tenants, landlords or neighbors their unpleasant experience like noise nuisance.
On average, 2 million people stay in an Airbnb house each night, and the company's properties have hosted more than 500 million visitors since its establishment. The financial magazine Forbes estimated the business to be worth $31 billion （approximately HK$242.2 billion）, and Airbnb is soon to be a listed company. Its operating model is often referenced by large companies, including Hilton and Marriott International, which consider launching similar home-rental business.
London, Paris and New York have the largest number of Airbnb rental units currently. For instance, in London, the city with one of the world's most expensive property prices, more than 77,000 homes are now listed on Airbnb and a threefold increase is seen since 2015. The accommodations now host more than 2.2 million visitors every year, contributing a revenue of 1.3 billion pounds （approximately HK$12.6 billion） to the local economy. Nevertheless, the government has called for a balance between economic growth and the well-being of residents, and decided to regulate the situation. Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London, had launched a new measure in April imposing a legal cap of 90 nights a year for short-term rentals in the city. Although Airbnb is supportive to the mayor's call, other accommodation platforms are less compliant.
New York has an estimated 50,000 Airbnb accommodations. To avoid negative impact on the supply of long-term housing, the city has imposed stringent regulations on Airbnb landlords, and even filed a $21-million lawsuit against a group of real estate brokers who were accused of using Airbnb to rent out 130 apartments, drastically reducing the supply of second-hand private flats in the city. The housing rights group New York Communities for Change pointed out that 70,000 homeless people were found in the city, but at the same time thousands of apartments were listed misleadingly as hotel rooms on the website. Airbnb argued that New York politicians had been influenced by some powerful hotel lobbyists or even took money from big hotels to help limit the growth of homestay industry, saying that any restrictions would only hurt the income sources of the middle-class New Yorkers.
Scotland's capital Edinburgh, with its unique festival, cultural and artistic atmosphere, has attracted numerous visitors worldwide, and the number of local Airbnb accommodations has also risen dramatically. Louise Dickins, who operated Airbnb and short-term lets, thought that Airbnb assisted in bringing in a considerable amount of tourists, and consequently better restaurants, retail outlets as well as increased employment opportunities. Mike Small, founding member of the campaign group Citizen, on the other hand, worried about the negative impact of excessive tourism and privatization of public spaces, saying that introducing Airbnb to the old town without regulations would only result in chaos.
A considerable amount of income is one of the factors driving a rapid expansion of Airbnb. In Barcelona of Spain, for example, the city councilor Janet Sanz said a landlord can earn €3,000 （approximately HK$26,000） per week by renting to tourists, compared to €800 （approximately HK$6,972） a month to a resident, it is obviously far more lucrative to do so.■龐嘉儀
Q&A
1. Airbnb網站於何時成立？
2. 該公司目前在全球有多少間分公司？
3. 該公司總部位於哪裡？
4. 網站的原來名稱是什麼？
Answer
1. 2008年8月
2. 12間
3. 美國加利福尼亞州舊金山 （San Francisco, California, U.S.） 4. Airbedandbreakfast.com （營運雛形只為旅客提供氣墊床和早餐，現簡化為Airbnb.com）
