Among the giants of the so-called "sharing economy", Airbnb is often viewed as the model student to Uber's problem child.



The US$30 billion (NZ$42 billion) valued home-sharing app provider has a much more benign, inoffensive reputation than its trailblazing ride-sharing peer, which has been mired in scandal ever since it burst on to the scene a few years ago.



But with critical regulations over room-sharing in Australia's two biggest states hanging in the balance, resistance to the popular service is building momentum. And, as maneuvering over this regulation intensifies, this opposition is poised to become more visible.



If it follows a similar path to the US, then fireworks are possible.

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Last month, the New South Wales government issued an options paper that could see, among other things, Airbnb hosts taxed and strata schemes given the ability to completely ban the service from their buildings.

REUTERS The hotel lobby hasn't landed as many blows on Airbnb as taxi drivers have on Uber.

Since Australia has the world's highest penetration rate for Airbnb usage, and Sydney is a top-10 Airbnb city for listings globally, it is an important test case that will be watched around the world.

Meanwhile in Victoria, legislation to curb party houses, which Airbnb supports, has stalled in parliament, in part due to lobbying from community groups who don't think it goes far enough.

One of the key differences between Uber and Airbnb is that the former has had to deal with criticism that its product is destroying a particular type of job (taxi driver), that happens to have powerful vested interests behind it.



HOTELS FIRING BLANKS



But making the case that room-sharing is directly threatening jobs is more complicated. Sections of the hospitality industry (particularly restaurant groups) actually support Airbnb, since guests tend to spend more money on experiences such as eating out.



​So while hand-to-hand combat between Uber and the taxi lobby has been in full public view, the hotel lobby hasn't landed as many blows on Airbnb (although it was pretty upset with Qantas, when it struck a partnership deal with the company).

DARRIAN TRAYNOR/FAIRFAX MEDIA Barbara Francis is hitting back at Airbnb in Melbourne.

For the most part, the hotel lobby has preferred to let grassroots community groups take the lead.

In Sydney, one such group is Neighbours not Strangers, led by inner-city resident Trish Burt; in Melbourne, there's We Live Here, led by Barbara Francis.

The battle over how to regulate Airbnb is deeply fascinating

Both of these groups are concerned that homesharing has led to increased instances of unseemly and inappropriate behaviour in residential neighbourhoods, of which, it must be said, there are many examples.

In the US, the hotel lobby has orchestrated sophisticated campaigns against Airbnb.

This has included funding for sting operations against Airbnb hosts, and financial backing for "astro-turf" or faux-grassroots opposition groups to the company.

For example, in 2015, the US Center for Public Integrity found that a nominally community driven group called Neighbors (sic) for Overnight Oversight, which had highlighted instances of poor behaviour by Airbnb hosts, was actually a creation of the American Hotel & Lodging Association.

GRASSROOTS GRUNT

The Australian Hotels Association (AHA) has backed "grassroots" campaigns before, against liquor laws, but that was a long time ago. It did not respond to a request for comment on Airbnb, or any support for community groups opposed to it. Tourism Accommodation Australia president Martin Ferguson also didn't respond to emails.

Burt says Neighbours not Strangers, which has 800 signatories, has links to "other community groups in Australia, the UK, in Europe, and North America that we work with on a daily basis". But it has not received any external funding, or support from the hotel industry.

"Our turnover has been zero, absolutely zero. And all the expenditure has literally come from our own pockets," she says.

Francis, for her part, has previously stated a desire to work with Tourism Accommodation Australia. We Live Here is also working with an external public relations agency.

But Francis says it has not received any support or financial backing from lobbying groups either.

"I can promise you we have not received a cent. We live on donations from grassroots groups," she said. "We have been approached by one or two organisations but we won't do it. We want to remain a grassroots operation, on a shoe string."

So opposition to Airbnb may, quite literally, be NIMBY-ism. But there's nothing to suggest there is anything more sinister going on than that. You could argue the reverse, that it's an example of a genuine community uprising against a powerful company.