This report provides preliminary summaries of data obtained from primary research on the perceptions of Airbnb’s impacts on the Byron Shire community, New South Wales (NSW), Australia. The project commenced following receipt of a Seed Funding Grant from the Tourism Research Cluster in Southern Cross University’s School of Business and Tourism (SBAT). A team of SBAT researchers conducted interviews and implemented a survey to understand Byron Shire (BS) residents’ views on the positive and negative impacts of Airbnb within the Shire. The research project followed an initial 2018 scoping study which investigated peer-reviewed studies on the implications of Airbnb on local communities around the world. The aims of this current project were to:
1. Profile the nature of Airbnb in the Byron Shire, i.e. to determine the size, main attributes and development patterns of Airbnb in the Shire.
2. To describe, critically analyse and explore the community perspectives on the perceived positive and negative impacts of Airbnb within the Shire in order to inform specific and locally appropriate solutions.
To fulfil these objectives, the research team leveraged the literature review from a prior study to inform the conduct of 22 semi-structured interviews with diverse key informants in the BS. The interview data further informed the survey instrument which garnered the views of over 800 BS residents.