Shabnam Sepehri-Boroujeni

The digitization of businesses has changed the way we purchase goods and services. This has been amplified in the last year due to the pandemic and social distancing measures. Demand for services such as ridership, quality goods, and short-term rentals has increased relative to traditional services. This has led to the rapid expansion of digital platforms such as Amazon, Uber, and Airbnb. The private short-term accommodation market has raised many public policy questions some of which revolve around how these markets should be regulated and taxed to mediate their impact on the housing and rental market. This study focuses on analyzing the spatiotemporal distribution of Airbnb and its’ potential impact on the long-term rental market in City of Toronto and City of Vancouver in Canada. There are two main findings; first, Airbnb listing are shown to be concentrated in areas closer to the city center. Second, there is a positive correlation between the presence of Airbnb and rental rates. These findings align with previous studies and further contribute to the growing body of research on the topic of platform economy and short-term rentals.