This comes as the government’s short stay accommodation bill tabled in parliament this week aims to do just that, and a new Rental Affordability Index report gave the state’s major metropolitan areas an unfavourable nod.

A Legislative Council inquiry into the sector is set to hold further hearings within the next week.

Shelter Tas executive officer Pattie Chugg said the organisation would like to see “independent” and “robust” data detailing the types of short stay accommodation in the state.

“Relying on partial data supplied only by a company with clear financial interest in promoting positives and downplaying any negatives is not showing the true picture,” Ms Chugg said.

New Airbnb data, provided to The Examiner, broke down listings across Launceston, Derby, St Helens and Swansea into those classed as “entire home” – covering everything from a granny flat up to full properties – and the percentage of these booked for over 181 nights.

Relative to the housing market, those listings represent 0.19 per cent in Launceston, 1 per cent in Swansea and 0.24 per cent in St Helens, with no Derby listings fitting the classification.

Airbnb’s head of public policy ANZ Brent Thomas said holding such a “miniscule” part of the market responsible distracted from issues like planning, population growth and taxation.

“The biggest myth of all is that Airbnb is a big part of the housing market,” he told The Examiner.

Introducing the Short Stay Accommodation Bill on Thursday, Planning Minister Roger Jaensch said the government was committed to ensuring the sharing economy continued to play a positive role in the visitor economy and community.

“We’ve listened to the community and local government sector calls for meaningful data and to ensure compliance with our existing regulations,” he said in a statement.

The bill would make booking platform providers share data with the Director of Building Control each financial quarter – including property listing periods, permit information, and the portion of the property being listed – or face fines of up to $8,150.

Onus is also placed on those listing properties to provide that information to platforms.

Tenants' Union of Tasmania spokesperson Ben Bartl said short stay accommodation should be regulated so that “long-term tenants are prioritised over short-term tourists”.

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