Peer-to-Peer Accommodation User Experience: Evidence From Sri Lanka

Abstract

With the emergence of the sharing economy, Airbnb has become the poster child for the digital peer-to-peer accommodation market in the hospitality industry. The study explores the attributes influencing Airbnb user experiences in Sri Lanka by analyzing online guest reviews. The study uses an exploratory research design to examine a large data set of Airbnb user reviews utilizing text mining and sentiment analysis. According to the analysis, five key themes emerged from the review comments: “recommend,”“host,”“experience,”“room,” and “location.” Furthermore, the relationship between the host and the guest greatly impacts the Airbnb user experience in Sri Lanka. Most Airbnb user reviews are positive and primarily focus on the host, while negative ones typically focus on the property’s indoor environmental quality. The study contributes to the literature on the sharing economy by offering a structured and extensive analysis of actual online reviews from Airbnb customers to understand their experiences better while providing valuable insights for various stakeholders in the industry.