Emergence and Acceptance of Sharing Economy in India: Understanding through the Case of Airbnb

India is a developing country, socially and culturally unique, fast adapting to international trends. The paper explores the sharing economy through the case of Airbnb, rooms & apartment renting service online, its emergence in India where it is yet to find a "share of mind". It focuses on consumer understanding of sharing economy, openness to trial, factors used to evaluate such services over existing services. The qualitative study includes Netnography and in-depth interviews to understand the opinion of people online and the level of awareness and perception about sharing economy and Airbnb. Netnography shows that online reviews play a major role in decision-making prior to trial. In-depth interviews show that first time users, rely more on WOM and consider online reviews post a satisfactory transaction. Locations, safety, comfort, cleanliness value for money are confirmed. The study has implications for marketers of such services at India and is useful to create a win-win situation with the design of consumer driven marketing strategies.