Throughout Bangkok, there are over 300 listings on Airbnb, a residence-sharing platform enabling people to rent for short term stays.

But it's illegal. And recent attention has been brought to the company's legal status in Thailand with the launch of Airbnb Experiences.

The new feature allows users to book cultural experiences like muay Thai training, fruit-carving lessons, Thai cooking classes, and bicycle trips through other users in Bangkok who offer their services.

It's that last category—bicycle trips—that's potentially troublesome. Bicycle tours perform the same function as typical preexisting tour operations, for which hosts are required to obtain a guide license to operate legally.

Based on existing Thai law, Airbnb rentals are also illegal. Building laws drawn up in 1979 rule out renting residences for short-term stays, while another law from 1935 states that any hospitality business must be registered—a law which imposes taxes on hotels on a per room, per night condition.

Airbnb co-founder Joe Gebbia says they are working closely with countries where problems lie, reports Khaosod English.

So far, though, Airbnb has slid by unscathed. And Gebbia believes it will stay that way: "The sharing economy is here to stay. The genie is already out of the bottle," he told Khaosod English.  

Also read: Bangkok's top Airbnb hosts reveal the secrets of their success