Regulation strictness and supply in the platform economy: the case of Airbnb and Couchsurfing

Figures & data

Figure 1. USA Airbnb listings, AirDNA dataset.

Table 1. Roomscore scoring methodology.

Legal Framework	Restrictions	Taxation	Licensing	Enforcement
0 to +10 if tailored legal framework exists.	0 to −40. Based on threshold question of legality for hosted/non-hosted stays, zoning/geographic restrictions, etc.	0 to −5. If tax collection falls solely on platform, deductions are assessed. If collection falls solely on owner, no deductions. If city is agnostic on collection or responsibility, no deductions. Other deductions associated for burdensome requirements like additional reporting.	0 to −10 based on number of licenses and cost over 5 years, in addition to start-up costs.	0 to −10. Deductions assessed for burdensome inspections or other restrictions.

Table 2. Roomscore results for 59 U.S. cities.

City ↓	Base Score	Legal Framework	Restrictions	Taxation	Licensing	Enforcement	Final Score	Letter Grade
Albuquerque	90.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	−2.00	−1.00	87.00	B+
Anaheim	90.00	10.00	0.00	0.00	−5.00	−10.00	85.00	B
Asheville	90.00	5.00	−25.00	0.00	0.00	−7.00	63.00	D
Atlanta	90.00	0.00	−40.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	50.00	F
Austin	90.00	10.00	−25.00	0.00	−7.00	−5.00	63.00	D
Baltimore	90.00	0.00	−25.00	0.00	0.00	−5.00	60.00	D-
Boston	90.00	0.00	−15.00	0.00	−7.00	−6.00	62.00	D-
Boulder	90.00	10.00	−30.00	0.00	−1.00	0.00	69.00	D+
Charleston	90.00	5.00	−25.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	70.00	C-
Charlotte	90.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	−3.00	87.00	B+
Chicago	90.00	3.00	−10.00	0.00	−5.00	−8.00	70.00	C-
Cleveland	90.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	90.00	A-
Colorado Springs	90.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	−5.00	−1.00	84.00	B
Columbus	90.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	90.00	A-
Dallas	90.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	90.00	A-
Denver	90.00	0.00	−40.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	50.00	F
Detroit	90.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	90.00	A-
El Paso	90.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	90.00	A-
Fort Lauderdale	90.00	10.00	0.00	0.00	−10.00	−10.00	80.00	B-
Fort Worth	90.00	0.00	−30.00	0.00	−2.00	0.00	58.00	F
Fresno	90.00	0.00	−35.00	0.00	0.00	−1.00	54.00	F
Galveston	90.00	10.00	0.00	−2.00	0.00	−1.00	97.00	A+
Houston	90.00	0.00	−20.00	0.00	0.00	−5.00	65.00	D
Indianapolis	90.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	90.00	A-
Jackson Hole	90.00	0.00	−30.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	60.00	D-
Jacksonville	90.00	0.00	−35.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	55.00	F
Kansas City	90.00	0.00	−35.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	55.00	F
Las Vegas	90.00	3.00	0.00	0.00	−10.00	−10.00	73.00	C
Long Beach	90.00	0.00	−15.00	0.00	−9.00	−3.00	63.00	D
Los Angeles	90.00	0.00	−35.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	55.00	F
Louisville	90.00	10.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	−7.00	93.00	A
Maui County	90.00	10.00	−15.00	0.00	−5.00	−10.00	70.00	C-
Memphis	90.00	0.00	−25.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	65.00	D
Mesa	90.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	90.00	A-
Miami	90.00	0.00	−20.00	0.00	−2.00	0.00	68.00	D+
Milwaukee	90.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	90.00	A-
Minneapolis	90.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	−5.00	85.00	B
Nashville	90.00	10.00	−10.00	0.00	−3.00	−5.00	82.00	B-
New Orleans	90.00	0.00	−35.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	55.00	F
New York	90.00	0.00	−20.00	0.00	0.00	−8.00	62.00	D-
Oakland	90.00	3.00	0.00	−5.00	−8.00	0.00	80.00	B-
Oklahoma City	90.00	0.00	−40.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	50.00	F
Omaha	90.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	90.00	A-
Orlando	90.00	0.00	0.00	−2.00	−4.00	0.00	84.00	B
Philadelphia	90.00	10.00	−10.00	0.00	−5.00	−5.00	80.00	B-
Phoenix	90.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	90.00	A-
Portland	90.00	10.00	−20.00	−5.00	−4.00	−3.00	68.00	D+
Raleigh	90.00	0.00	−30.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	60.00	D-
Sacramento	90.00	10.00	−25.00	0.00	−1.00	−5.00	69.00	D+
San Antonio	90.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	90.00	A-
San Diego	90.00	5.00	0.00	0.00	−3.00	0.00	92.00	A-
San Francisco	90.00	10.00	−10.00	−5.00	−7.00	−10.00	68.00	D+
San Jose	90.00	10.00	−10.00	0.00	0.00	−5.00	85.00	B
Santa Barbara	90.00	0.00	−35.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	55.00	F
Savannah	90.00	10.00	0.00	0.00	−2.00	−1.00	97.00	A+
Seattle	90.00	5.00	0.00	0.00	−5.00	−3.00	87.00	B+
Tucson	90.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	−5.00	0.00	85.00	B
Virginia Beach	90.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	−4.00	0.00	86.00	B
Washington, DC	90.00	0.00	−10.00	0.00	−1.00	−5.00	74.00	C
MEDIAN		0.00	−10.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	74.00	C
AVERAGE		2.86	−13.31	−0.32	−2.07	−2.51	74.66	C
STD DEV		4.24	14.34	1.15	2.94	3.36	14.29

Table 3. Descriptive statistics and intercorrelations.

Variable	Mean	SD	Min.	Max.	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8
1. Supply	8462,11	18465,70	1,00	171182,00
2. Regulationstrictness	74,66	14,29	50,00	97,00	−0,187
3. Money	0,50	0,50	0,00	1,00	−0,396	0,000
4. GDP	250949,40	304416,00	4278,00	1657457,00	0,607	−0,182	0,000
5. Population	859718,80	1206568,00	10529,00	8537673,00	0,686	−0,168	0,000	0,791
6. Numberofhotels	371,92	519.73	33,00	3156,00	0,320	−0,105	0,000	0,364	0,363
7. Longtermrents	1392.08	549.13	597.27	3270.13	0,475	−0,240	0,000	0,692	0,477	0,333
8. Houseprices	308.38	191.11	132.2	1020.5	0,150	0,015	0,000	0,422	0,094	0,112	0,723
9. HotelPrices	192.9	51.53	114.59	370.78	0,443	−0,259	0,000	0,608	0,429	0,249	0,925	0,571

Table 4. The association between regulation strictness and PE supply.

	(1)	(2)	(3)
VARIABLES	Supply	Supply	Supply
Regulationstrictness	−196.7*	−230.6*	−249.8*
	(111.5)	(123.4)	(138.6)
Money	−13,211***	−44,294***	−48,022***
	(3,158)	(12,873)	(14,360)
Money*Regulationstrictness		392.2**	423.3**
		(169.1)	(188.6)
Population		0.00862***	0.00810***
		(0.00116)	(0.00183)
Numberofhotels		1.420	1.488
		(2.342)	(2.573)
Longtermrents		8.654**	7.659
		(3.819)	(8.860)
Houseprices		−8.952	−10.27
		(9.827)	(12.46)
GDP			0.00325
			(0.00875)
Hotelprices			9.217
			(73.82)
Constant	29,754	16,001	17,794
	(8,617)	(10,401)	(12,816)
Observations	118	102	90
R-squared	0.152	0.675	0.683

Standard errors in parentheses

*** p < 0.01, ** p < 0.05, * p < 0.1

Figure 2. Interaction of free vs for-profit sharing with regulation strictness.