Impact of Airbnb on the hotel industry in Japan

Abstract

The main aim of this paper is to find out whether the occupancy rate of the hotels would increase or decrease with the number of listings in Airbnb in Japan. It employs a panel data gathered from annual Airbnb's listings and hotel occupancy rates, covering all 47 prefectures in Japan and 5 accommodation types for 7 years. The findings indicate that the number of Airbnb listings did not have a statistically significant impact on the overall hotel occupancy rates. Based on the type of accommodations, both Ryokan and Common Lodging House show significant results and are positively influenced by Airbnb listings. The study concludes that Airbnb does not disrupt the hotel industry and suggests easing some of the current restrictions on accommodation sharing in Japan.