Emily Smith in the room she and flatmates rented out in Grey Lynn over three months using Airbnb. Photo / Dean Purcell
The country's tourism cheerleader is at odds with hoteliers over how to view the popular Airbnb lodging website.
Airbnb plans to open its first New Zealand office and claims to have doubled its listings here over the past 12 months.
Airbnb allows users to rent out a room in their own house on a temporary basis, like an informal bed-and-breakfast.
Bruce Robertson, Hospitality Association chief executive, said there was no doubt Airbnb was a competitor to hotels.
"The industry's happy to compete. That's the market. I guess the concern [is] are we competing on a level playing field? Airbnb operators aren't paying commercial rates, they aren't subject to the sort of safety controls that the commercial industry is."
He said Airbnb lacked "any oversight" and could operate with lower overheads than hotels.
"I think there needs to be some recognition they are operating a commercial business," Mr Robertson said.
"It's only a competitor at the margin, it's certainly not a mainstream competitor but I think as customers are becoming more adventurous, prepared to try new things ... then it has the potential to become a bigger issue."
He expected questions about taxation of Airbnb listings to eventually emerge.
Mr Robertson said the only possible advantage to hotels would be if people had a bad experience at Airbnb and vowed never to try the service again.
However, Tourism New Zealand welcomed the arrival and growth of Airbnb.
"It provides additional choice for visitors and that's always a good thing," spokeswoman Deborah Gray said.
"Certainly we've seen capacity constraints over the peak summer periods so an outfit like this certainly can help ease the pressure."
Aucklander Emily Smith was also a fan of Airbnb.
She hosted guests at her rented Grey Lynn flat using Airbnb earlier this year to fill a spare room.
She said a huge range of accommodation was offered on the website.
"We probably did the most basic level - just a room and a shared bathroom."
Ms Smith and her flatmates saw a chance to make some extra money, with the landlord's permission, and meet new people. "We would have had a couple of people a week ... probably on average three or four nights a week."
Ms Smith said most of her guests were travellers from abroad, who probably would have stayed at backpackers' hostels otherwise.
The Grey Lynn room was rented out at $66 a night.
Airbnb New Zealand head Sam McDonagh this week said the firm had about 1.2 million listings worldwide and 6000 in New Zealand.
Your own B&B
Airbnb allows users to rent out a room in their own house on a temporary basis, like an informal bed-and-breakfast. Visitors to the website can rent places from hosts in more than 190 countries.
Rates for hotels have soared in one tourist hotspot while others have suffered.