At the moment it is difficult to share apartments with others, but in general you can now share almost everything: cars, swimming pools, tennis courts, terraces and boats. This is especially good for our wallet. But also not without danger, because the sharing platforms like to pass on the risks.
Is sharing sustainable? Yes. Is that why we share? No, says Jonas Pentzien from the Institute for Ecological Economic Research. "Most users of sharing platforms want to save money." This already reveals the origins of providers such as Uber, Airbnb and WeWork: "All the big platforms grew up in the context of the financial crisis from 2007 to 2009 and beyond," says the sustainability economist. Back then, many people would have lost their jobs and had to generate some income. And in many cases it was the case that "they may have had a room in their apartment because the child moved out".
Nothing has changed to this day: The people who offer their apartments or carpooling on sharing platforms often do this because they need money – studies by the Institute for Ecological Economy Research have confirmed this: "We found that users sharing offers are primarily motivated by economic aspects, "says Pentzien. "Ecological motives that are often associated with it also play a role, but are not as relevant. But at least more relevant than social motives."
"It makes sense to share the cordless drill"
It is also economic motives that are driving many people to offer their swimming pools at Swimply recently. In April and May, when the first wave of corona in the United States reached its peak and more and more people wanted to escape the quarantine monotony, the pool broker demand rose by 1200 percent. In sprawling U.S. states with lots of pools like Arizona, an hour of cooling is available for around $ 40. In the cramped canyons of New York City, pleasure costs up to $ 100.
A lucrative business for pool owners, the huge pools are expensive to buy and maintain. And certainly not necessary at least at times when the global economy is on the ground. Just like many other things in our household. "The classic example is always the cordless drill," says Jonas Pentzien. "If you buy one, you only use it on average for about twelve minutes, then again forever. It makes sense for people to share the cordless drill."
"What if I build an accident?"
But sharing is also dangerous, because what do we do if the cordless drill does not come back? Or if an Airbnb guest lets something go with us from our apartment? With many platforms, customers can complain in such cases – in principle, however, it works in such a way that problems are passed on to the customers, says Jonas Pentzien. Such cases would then often be regulated through individual liability insurance. "Of course, a certain form of uncertainty remains."
This also applies to Swimply, because the idea of lying by the pool with strangers in the middle of the corona crisis seems at least questionable. However, the platform does not worry, the pool owners are responsible for hygiene, Swimply boss Asher Weinberger told the American news site Vox. As far as he knows, they attach great importance to cleanliness. And if someone does violate the CDC guidelines, he or she will be banned from the platform. The startup can therefore deny responsibility for any corona infections.
Because of such incalculable risks, our private cars are still among the things that we surprisingly rarely share – even though there are hundreds in the streets and some are not used for days or weeks. On many platforms, there is still uncertainty about the insurance question, says Jonas Pentzien: "What happens if I build an accident with another car?" Many sharing providers may want owners to seek private insurance in such cases. At this point at the latest it was mostly with the desire to share.
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