By
This is the case at both Airbnb and
The success of most of these companies is closely linked to the transport and tourism sectors - two of the hardest hit by restrictions on mobility - with the exception of food deliveries, which is experiencing a crucial moment because of COVID-19.
"So now I'm doing about 70 percent food deliveries and 30 percent passengers. Normally it would be the other way around," said
This has not only meant a change in the type of activity he carries out, but also a drop in income of up to
Like Thomas, hundreds of thousands of drivers around the world have seen their number of passengers plummet in recent months, losing a significant portion of their income, and some have even stopped driving because it was no longer worth it or because they could not continue to pay their car installments.
However, no
Therefore the layoffs at
Airbnb's case is even more brutal than
During the past years, when tourism and consumer spending on leisure reached unparalleled levels, many investors opted to take out mortgages with the purchase of houses, not with the aim of living in them, but rather renting them for temporary stays through Airbnb.
"I have an already paid for property that does not worry me. I'll just stop making money from it for a few months and that's it. The ones that worry me are two others that I bought in 2015 and that were always full until now," said Kim, a professional artist based in
Out of the three houses that Kim rents out on Airbnb, the only one that is already paid for is in
In better times, the collaborative economy was seen as an easy opportunity to secure a source of income while maintaining a high degree of autonomy, having freedom over how many hours worked per day and having to answer only to oneself, which encouraged many people to quit their jobs to drive for
"Now, the prospect is much more precarious, without health insurance and without work for prolonged periods of time. At least for a time, (the pandemic) will be a stumbling block for people to leave stable jobs and turn to a collaborative economy," said professor of finance at the
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