Unfair competition: Uber vs taxis and Airbnb vs hotels

Unfair competition is defined as a set of abusive commercial techniques or practices by a company against one of its competitors affecting competition.
Two companies illustrate the principle of unfair competition: Uber and Airbnb. With the development of new technologies, these two companies are disrupting the traditional taxi and hotel market.
Indeed, unfair competition is becoming more and more common and easy through the net and smartphone applications. Companies are being created and using these technologies to break markets and win as many customers as possible. However, the practices of some are sometimes incorrect and illegal.
The different forms of unfair competition
Parasitism
Is a practice that consists in taking advantage of the reputation of one of its competitors by usurping its notoriety or know-how, without paying anything and without wanting confusion between the brands. Eg: the reproduction of commercial documents (type of contract, sales pitch, imitation of a company catalogue or website)
The desorganization
Consists either in an internal disruption of the company (e.g. disclosure of trade secrets, espionage, file hijacking, etc.) or in a disruption of the competitors' business or commercial methods (e.g. removal of competitors' advertising panels, order hijacking, canvassing of the competitors' customers, etc.) . This has a direct impact on their salaries.
This problem has repercussions in every country and every city. Where the problem of unfair competition appears is that Taxi drivers are in compliance with the law, with regulations, vehicle registration, training, while some random person thinks he can just buy a car and become a taxi driver. it's not right and its not legal.
We also observe the decrease in the price of the license which has gone from 240 000 to 120 000 in 5 years in Paris for example
Airbnb vs hotel
Context
While the Airbnb platform continues to increase its popularity thanks to very attractive prices, hotels are seeing a significant decrease in their popularity. The problem is not the existence of the Airbnb platform, but the lack of rules governing its activities.
While digital technology can boost the economy by proposing alternative modes of consumption, it must not lead to conditions of unfair competition. Indeed, there are very few regulatory constraints for Airbnb. While Hotelkeeper will have to pay charges, invest in security and accessibility facilities, pay tourist tax, and many other expenses while the online platform is exempt.
Moreover, in France, despite millions of euros of turnover, Airbnb paid only a small amount of taxes in 2015: 69,168 euros. Thanks to tax optimization to avoid taxes in France. Indeed:
* Airbnb's European headquarters are located in Ireland, where corporate taxes are the lowest in Europe.
* The French subsidiary of Airbnb does not rent anything, so all contracts are concluded with Airbnb Ireland. All amounts are not subject to French tax. Airbnb France has reduced its turnover from 65 million to less than 5 million euros in declared turnover.
Consequences for hotels
All of this is annoying for hotel professionals, who, in addition to suffering from heavy regulatory constraints, see the decline of the customer number of more than 10% and a drop of its turnover of 20%, leading to repercussions on employment.
Sanctions for Uber and Airbnb
Examples of sanctions for Uber
From its inception in 2009 to 2016, Uber has accumulated $161.9 million in fines worldwide. It has been the subject of more than 170 trials in the United States alone.
On December 9, 2014, UberPOP is banned in Spain by a Madrid court.
In June 2014, Uber was sentenced in France to a fine of €800,000 half of which was suspended for complicity in the illegal practice of the taxi profession via the Uber Pop application. After several complaints, from Transdev, Le Cab or taxi companies, the UberPOP service was banned from 22 September 2016 by the Constitutional Council, arguing that Uber was not a transport company.
In the end, Uber is banned in most European countries but this ban cannot be verified, which is why the American giant in chauffeur-driven passenger cars is only growing year after year.
Examples of sanctions for Airbnb
In the case of Airbnb, it is the owners who are punished, for example: the city of Paris has pocketed or is to pocket €1.48 million in fines imposed on indelicate owners who rent their accommodation on the Airbnb platform. The sanctions fell between 1 January 2018 and 5 November 2018. In 2017, the total fines did not exceed €1.3 million. Most of the convictions relate to a lack of request for a change in the use of the leased property. Thus, any owner wishing to rent a property on a seasonal basis must make a request to the town hall. If it is a principal residence, then the owners are only allowed to rent the accommodation for up to 120 nights per year, and the increase in convictions is also due to the intensification of controls carried out by the City of Paris.

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