Sarah Pennells explores the world of a sharing economy
Money expert Sarah Pennells writes for us.
WHAT would you do if you needed to get somewhere that was not on a public transport route? Call a taxi? Ask a family member to take you? Or get in a car with a stranger? Probably not option three, but for an increasing number of people, “lift sharing” is a way of cutting the costs of transport. It is not the only way people are choosing to share what they own or what they can do.
You can rent out your home, or rent someone else’s as an alternative to booking a hotel room. You can rent out your own drive, or rent someone else’s if you need a space to park; rent out your loft space, and, if you have a dog, you can get someone to borrow it for the day, rather than hiring a dog walker.
The so-called “sharing economy” has expanded over recent years and new ways of sharing possessions and skills seem to be springing up on an almost weekly basis. But should you let a stranger store their unwanted possessions in your home? Should you give a lift to someone you don’t know? And would you really let someone you don’t know borrow your precious pet – if only for a day?
How the sharing economy works
Enthusiasts of the sharing economy seem to love the fact it means they can generate an income from something they don’t use, or swap it for something they want. They love the fact it’s much more personal than booking a hire car or a hotel room.
Critics say it can be confusing for first timers to find out how it all works, and is it really “sharing” when you charge hotel rates for your home? Shouldn’t it all be free if it’s really based on sharing?
Well, no, not necessarily. The idea of the sharing economy (the clue is that the word “economy” is in there!) is that it’s peer to peer. That means someone who wants something can – pretty much – negotiate direct with someone who has it. There may be an app or online platform you have to register with, but there’s no traditional company packaging it all up as one of their own products.
What to look for
Booking a room or a holiday home through an online platform like Airbnb is fairly straightforward, but there are a couple of golden rules (and these apply to any sharing economy platform). The first is that you should always carry out the transaction through the platform. That means you should communicate and – crucially – pay for the booking through its own systems. Don’t pay the person direct – no matter what reason they give you. If you do, you will not be covered by the platform’s cancellation or refund policies.
Secondly, if you are using a sharing economy platform for the first time, do your own research into what others say about it. Don’t just rely on the breathlessly positive testimonials that they may have on the website home page. I always put the name of the company and the word “review” or “complaint” into an online search engine like Google, or check out what people are saying on review sites like Trustpilot, before I part with any money.
The UK’S sharing economy trade body has developed something called “Trustseal”, which is the world’s first kitemark for sharing economy companies. Companies that sign up have to meet certain standards on transparency, data protection and so on. You can find out more about Trustseal at www.sharingeconomytrustseal.com.