University Tourism Research: Future of Hotel Industry in Australia

This research proposal explores the future of the hotel industry in Australia, focusing on the impact of collaborative businesses like Airbnb. It aims to understand how these new business models are changing the tourism landscape and traditional hotel operations. The study investigates the nature of collaborative sharing in the tourism sector, examining how businesses like Airbnb are impacting the hotel industry and tourist destinations. The research employs a mixed-methods approach, using both qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis to address the research question: How does the hotel industry view its future and how the development of collaborative sharing businesses, such as Airbnb, will have impact on tourism and tourist destinations in future? The proposal includes a literature review discussing Airbnb's influence and the challenges it poses to hotels, alongside a description of the research methodology and a list of references.

Running head: CONTEMPORARY ISSUES IN TOURISM
Research Proposal on the Future of Hotel Industry
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author note:

1CONTEMPORARY ISSUES IN TOURISM
Introduction
As the tourism industry across the world has grown in an immense way over the past few
decades, the nature of tourism has experienced much revolutionary changes. Among all the
elements of the tourism industry, the hotel and accommodation sector has seen a drastic change
in the way of doing business with the emergence of organizations like Airbnb, which provides
opportunity of lease or rent sharing of houses to the tourists (Oskam & Boswijk, 2016). This is a
diversion from the mainstream hotel and accommodation business. Airbnb is a broker service
that operates in the online market place in the hospitality industry, and provides the opportunity
of short term lease or rent sharing for houses, cottages, hotels, homestays, apartments and hostels
to the tourists, who come to visit the place or to take part in any activity. They promote the
collaborative sharing and consumption (Guttentag, 2015).
Research aim and objectives
The aim of the research study is to explore the future of the hotel industry in Australia in
the light of emergence of new collaborative businesses like Airbnb and their growing popularity,
and how these are going to impact on the tourism and tourist destination.
The objectives of the research study are:
 To evaluate the nature of collaborative sharing businesses in tourism industry
 To examine the impact of collaborative sharing businesses on the future tourism and
traditional hotel industry

2CONTEMPORARY ISSUES IN TOURISM
Research question
How does the hotel industry view its future and how the development of collaborative sharing
businesses, such as, Airbnb, will have impact on tourism and tourist destinations in future?
Literature review
Airbnb and the hotel industry
Airbnb has brought revolutionary change in the hotel industry, which is creating
challenges for the hotels to cope up with. They give an experience like hotel but coupled with
many new experiences with the local host and food. They give the opportunity to live like a local
in the tourist destinations, like, climbing up to a particular apartment, in a residential building in
the city with access to private garden. It helps to maintain flexibility and individuality during the
stay and increases the adventure and excitement of the journey (Pinsker, 2017). It does not offer
any room service, and the tourists get the opportunity to explore the destinations and food like
the locals.
This creates a threat to the hotel industry, as the tourists now prefer more in-depth
tourism experience. They want to explore the destinations like the locals. Airbnb also provides
cheaper accommodation, which is cost effective to the tourists compared to the hotels in the
cosmopolitan cities (Bary, 2017).
Research methodology
Research methodology refers to the steps and processes to be followed by the researcher
to address the research questions in the most appropriate and logical manner (). For this research,
the researcher will use both the qualitative and quantitative research method. It will follow

3CONTEMPORARY ISSUES IN TOURISM
deductive research approach, as inferences will be made from the observations. The researcher
will collect primary data through surveys regarding the opinion of people on Airbnb and
secondary data to find out the growth of its businesses in the last few years. Primary data will be
analyzed using quantitative method and the secondary data will be analyzed qualitatively to
validate the results of primary data analysis.

4CONTEMPORARY ISSUES IN TOURISM
References
Bary, E. (2017). For Hotels, the Airbnb Threat Could Be Receding. Barrons.com. Retrieved 1
May 2018, from https://www.barrons.com/articles/for-hotels-the-airbnb-threat-could-be-
receding-1510335326
Guttentag, D. (2015). Airbnb: disruptive innovation and the rise of an informal tourism
accommodation sector. Current issues in Tourism, 18(12), 1192-1217.
Oskam, J., & Boswijk, A. (2016). Airbnb: the future of networked hospitality
businesses. Journal of Tourism Futures, 2(1), 22-42.
Pinsker, J. (2017). How the Hotel Industry Views Its Future (and Airbnb). The Atlantic.
Retrieved 1 May 2018, from
https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2017/09/hotels-magazine-industry-airbnb/
540525/