PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE BRIEF (Week 3)

What is Collaborative Consumption?

Collaborative consumption is a class of economic arrangements in which participants share access to products or services, rather than having individual ownership. Often this model is enabled by technology and peer communities.

The collaborative consumption model is used in:

·         Market places (eBay, Craigslist and Krrb)

·         Emerging sectors such as social lending (Zopa)

·         Peer-to-peer accommodation (Airbnb)

·         Peer-to-peer travel experiences (LocalGuiding)

·         Peer-to-peer task assignments (TaskRabbit)

·         Travel advising (Locish)

·         Car sharing (Zipcar) or commute-bus sharing (RidePal, Australia's GoGet CarShare)

·         Parking (ParkatmyHouse)

Types of collaborative consumption

Product service systems

This system is based on users paying for the benefit of using a product without needing to own the product outright. Product service systems are disrupting traditional industries based on models of individual private ownership. Goods that are privately owned can be shared or rented peer-to-peer.

Redistribution markets

A system of collaborative consumption is based on used or pre-owned goods being passed on from someone who does not want them to someone who does want them. This is another alternative to the more common 'reduce, reuse, recycle, repair' methods of dealing with waste. In some markets, the goods may be free and in others, the goods are swapped.

Collaborative lifestyles

This system is based on people with similar needs or interests banding together to share and exchange less-tangible assets such as time, space, skills, and money.

Benefits of collaborative consumption

The benefits of collaborative consumption include:

·         Reducing carbon foot print by sharing transportation and assets

·         Saving costs by borrowing and recycling items

·         Increasing happiness and contentment due to positive social interactions

Some of sharing service provider

Airbnb

·         Airbnb, founded in August 2008 and headquartered in San Francisco, is operated and privately owned by Airbnb, Inc. The company is an online service that provides a platform for individuals referred to as “hosts”, generally private parties, to rent unoccupied living space and other short-term lodging to guests.

·         As of September 2013, the company had over 500,000 listings in 33,000 cities and 192 countries.

·         Listings include private rooms, entire apartments, castles, boats, manors, tree houses, tipis, igloos, private islands and other properties.

·         Users of the site must register and create a personal online profile before using the site.

·         Every property is associated with a host whose profile includes recommendations by other users, reviews by previous guests, as well as a response rating and private messaging system.

·         As of July 2011, the company has raised $119.8 million in venture funding from Y Combinator, Greylock Partners, Sequoia Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, DST Global Solutions, General Catalyst Partners and an undisclosed amount from A Grade Investments’ partners, Ashton Kutcher and Guy Oseary.

·         Shortly after moving to San Francisco in October 2007, Brian Chesky and Joe Gebbia created the initial concept for AirBed & Breakfast during the Industrial Design Conference held by Industrial Designers Society of America.

·         The original site offered short-term living quarters, breakfast and a unique business networking opportunity for attendees who were unable to book a hotel in the saturated market.

·         At the time, roommates Chesky and Gebbia could not afford the rent for their loft in San Francisco.

·         They made their living room into a bed and breakfast, accommodating three guests on air mattresses and providing homemade breakfast.

In March 2009, the name Airbedandbreakfast.com was shortened to Airbnb.com, and the site’s content had expanded from airbeds and shared spaces to variety of properties including entire homes and apartments, private rooms, castles, boats, manors, tree houses, tipis, igloos, private islands and other properties.

Zipcar

·         Zipcar was co-founded by Antje Danielson and Robin Chase based on existing German and Swiss companies in January 2000.

·         Zipcar is a US membership-based carsharing company providing automobile reservations to its members, billable by the hour or day.

·         Zipcar was founded in 2000 by Cambridge, Massachusetts residents Antje Danielson and Robin Chase.

·         On 14 March 2013 Avis Budget Group purchased Zipcar for about US$500 million in cash.

·         Zipcar will operate as a subsidiary of Avis Budget Group. Scott Griffith, who had run the company for the previous 10 years, resigned the day after the acquisition closed, and passed the reins to a new company President, Mark Norman.

·         As of July 2013, the company had more than than 810,000 members and offers nearly 10,000 vehicles throughout the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Spain and Austria, making Zipcar the world's leading car sharing network.

·         Members can reserve Zipcars online or by phone at anytime, immediately or up to a year in advance.