Abstract (eng)
The global, rapid growth of Airbnb rentals has initiated a heated debate about housing conversions through Airbnb in recent years and the related potential burden to the respective housing markets. Especially affected are tourism metropolises in Europe and North America, where the extent of Airbnb listings additionally influences negative settings in the respective housing markets, which are generally burdened by various other reasons. Thus Airbnb has at least intensified the subsequent negative effects, such as housing shortages and rising rents in these markets. Despite ongoing public discussion in Vienna on this issue, represented in the media, there is hardly any profound scientific analysis available. The present master thesis is therefore primarily investigating whether, or rather which interdependencies exist between Airbnb rentals and Vienna's housing market supply. Departing from a superordinate theoretical framework, involving the economics of sharing as well as the specifics of the housing and real estate market, in addition to the help of a junction of empirical results of a GIS-based spatial analysis, statistical analysis, and expert interviews, the effects of Airbnb rentals on the housing supply of Vienna are discussed and evaluated both qualitatively and quantitatively in a spatial context. Including the legal framework conditions for the use of Airbnb, the essential implications of the development of Airbnb rentals for the Vienna housing market could be identified. Although the quantifiable impact of Airbnb on the housing supply and market rental prices have not been assumed as relevant during the investigation, some factors represent a significant impact for future developments. A steady, unpredictable growth of Airbnb rentals, as well as the additional profits that can be made on Airbnb compared to regular rents, represents a potential which may distort the market situation of Viennese housing in the near future. The spatial concentration of Airbnb rentals leads to circumstances that only certain subsegments of the private rental housing market are affected and, in addition, small-scale effects on the housing market may occur. Based on the interpretation of the current discourse on the regulation of the economics of sharing on a European level, possible objectives and recommendations for future control measures for the city of Vienna can be deduced.