Riding the storm: Understanding how peer-to-peer accommodation hosts manage role stress and the host-guest relationship

Abstract

In an effort to gain an in-depth understanding of the mental health issues associated with being a peer-to-peer (P2P) accommodation host, this study explored the ways that hosts use their interpretations and experiences of role stress to guide their practices in host-guest relationships. Informed by Kahn et al. (1964)'s theory of role stress, the authors conducted photo-elicitation based narrative interviews with thirty P2P accommodation hosts. The study reveals a series of different role stresses brought about by being a P2P host, and illustrates how these stresses are created and how they shape hosts' interactions with guests. The study presents a detailed and dynamic account of the nexus between role stress and the host-guest relationship, which has both theoretical and practical implications, and extends the theory of role stress in the novel organisational context of P2P accommodation.