Host-guest interactions in peer-to-peer accommodation: Scale development and its influence on guests’ value co-creation behaviors

Abstract

Host-guest interactions represent special, local experiences that differentiate peer-to-peer (P2P) accommodation from those that conventional hotels offer. However, the features and effects of host-guest interactions in P2P accommodation are seldom investigated systematically. This study develops a measurement scale of host-guest interactions and identifies how and when such interactions influence commercial friendships and guests’ value co-creation behaviors in P2P accommodation. Results suggest that such interactions represent a multi-dimensional construct, including accommodation information communication, individualized service, collaborative activities, and hospitality behavior. Except for instrumental interactions (i.e., accommodation information communication), three dimensions of host-guest interactions have positive effects on guests’ value co-creation behaviors through commercial friendships, suggesting the significance of building deep host-guest interactions in P2P accommodation. For highly sociable guests, host-guest interactions play a larger role in facilitating commercial friendships. Based on these results, theoretical and practical implications are discussed.