Disruption is a buzzword in current academic research, but it can have real-life implications that often are quite powerful.
Uber, the Web-based ride-sharing service, complements and supplants licensed taxi service and undercuts the economics of the established commercial transportation market.
Airbnb is based on a similar idea – that individuals have excess capacity that they can make some money on. In this case, it's an extra room or two (or even an entire house) that can be rented out for short-term stays.
In many cities Airbnb is viewed not only as competition to the existing hotel business but as a block to the development of affordable housing, since some investors are keeping empty residential properties out of the long-term rental or residential sales markets to make more profit with short-term rentals the service facilitates.
Rhode Island, it seems, is embracing Airbnb, however. The state's recent high hotel occupancy rates had the potential of leaving visitors with nowhere to stay, pushing many into using Airbnb, especially in Providence and Newport.
The local hotel industry is keeping a watchful eye on the digital service. And the state is now taxing the short-term stays as well, filling its coffers just a little more.
And while there may not be any lessons to be learned about how to coexist with potentially disruptive technology, one thing is for sure. It isn't going away. In fact, the pace of change is only going to accelerate, which means that consumers and existing businesses must learn to adapt. •