I spent the last two days at an inspiring workshop on Airbnb in European cities. It was organized by Christian Smigiel and Angela Hof at the University of Salzburg, Geography Department. I went there together with my colleagues Roman Seidl and Leonhard Plank (TU Wien) to present our research on Airbnb in Vienna (wherebnb.in/wien).

The program included a diverse and inspiring set of speakers, who explored Airbnb in different European urban contexts from diverse conceptual and methodological vantage points. Cities included were, among others, Salzburg, Thessaloniki, Reykjavik, Palma de Mallorca, Berlin, Vienna, Paris, London, Barcelona, Amsterdam, Lisbon and Copenhagen. While focusing on short-term rentals primarily, we discussed broader issues related to the rise of urban tourism, how it fits into current urban change and restructuring, and what conceptual tools we need to make sense of it. I leave with my many questions and ideas for further work. Thanks to the organizers!