Collaborative platform economy

Results from the Nordic Forum: Collaborative platform economy a new threat to hotel and restaurant workers in the Nordic countries

During the NU HRCT Nordic Forum in Malmö in the beginning of October 2016 there were good discussions on digitalization in the tourism industry and the challenges it raises for workers and companies.  The digital revolution has brought this to a new level, by facilitating transactions via online platforms which match demand and supply, and hence enabling transactions on a scale not possible before. 

Consumers search for information before a trip, they compare and check opinions of other travelers, and then they reserve tickets, hotels, and even tickets for shows and museums. During the trip, from online check-in to looking up information about restaurants and leisure activities. After traveling, they add their review to the information that other travelers will consult.

One of the megatrends in tourism relates to the sharp rise of the “collaborative economy” in the hospitality and tourism sector. People have always been sharing and exchanging goods and services, so this is not a new concept. However, the digital revolution has brought this to a new level, by facilitating transactions via online platforms which match demand and supply, and hence enabling transactions on a scale not possible before. 

The collaborative platform economy is developing against a background of rapid growth in international tourist travels in the world. It has been rapidly gaining market shares in travel and tourism, where private individuals are offering, for example, their homes as tourism accommodation, their cars as transport means and their knowledge of the place where they live for tour guiding. 

The platform economy in the tourism sector is mostly heading towards unregulated and exploitative practices, with an increasing number of service contracts and outsourcing, a drop in regular employment, the creation of informal jobs and a new shadow economy characterized by undeclared work. Large players such as Airbnb is posing threats to our members, particularly to members of well organized labor organizations which is the case in the Nordic countries.

At the Nordic Forum Ron Oswald, IUFs General Secretary pointed out that trade unions need to be far more vocal and active in calling it what it is and in challenging its right to grow unregulated. It is sucking the air out of the industry and also incidentally in many major cities driving up rents to the point where those cities are emptied of residents as the plague of Airbnb takes up more and more of the real estate.

The Nordic Forum adapted a resolution on the digitalization and platform economies, which stresses the need for a close cooperation between social partners in the Nordic region and the need to raise awareness of the negative consequences of digitalization and platform economies among the Nordic governments and the Nordic Council in order to drive forward better regulation, control and surveillance of these collaborative platforms.
 
Resolution adapted at the Nordic Forum on the 5th of October 2016 in Malmö:

Digitalization a new threat to hotel and restaurant workers in the Nordic countries