2a. Provide information on your computing innovation and computational artifact The computing innovation represented by the artifact is airbnb, an online marketplace for hospitality services (3). Airbnb uses a website to connect hosts with vacationers looking for housing (3). The artifact shows the computing innovation’s intended purpose, which is to find a customer a place to stay. The innovation works by first discovering a place, then booking it, and finally staying at the house. On the bottom of the artifact, it compares the cost of an airbnb to the average cost of a hotel room in several different cities. In most cities, an airbnb is cheaper than a hotel. 2b. Describe your developmental process, explicitly identifying the computing tools …show more content…
Busbud compared airbnb prices and hotel rates across twenty-two major cities in America, Europe, and Austria (2). It found that in sixteen of the cities, airbnb was cheaper than the average hotel rate (2), which shows that airbnb is more economical for travelers. In fact, fifty-two percent of airbnb users are low to moderate income (1). Making travel more affordable is beneficial to consumers. Furthermore, airbnb has a positive effect on society because it allows travelers to explore neighborhoods outside of tourist areas. Seventy-four percent of airbnb are properties outside of main hotel districts (1), which allow tourists to explore more. Airbnb also allows customers to live like a local while traveling, which encourages cultural exchange and tolerance in our diverse world …show more content…
Unlike hotel staff, airbnb hosts are not background checked and trained. This has led to multiple instances in which airbnb hosts have harassed or even attacked travelers (7). Furthermore, not all properties are safe like hotels, which have led to customers getting injured while staying on an airbnb property (7). Moreover, airbnb has a negative effect on the economy because some cities and states may not earn taxes from airbnb transactions (7). Because transactions occur online, taxes may not be collected resulting in lost revenue for municipalities and