Substitution or complementary effects between hosts and neighbors’ information disclosure: Evidence from Airbnb

Abstract

Prior studies have attributed and confirmed the importance of hosts’ information disclosure on boosting their performance due to the prominent information asymmetry on peer-to-peer rental platforms. This study takes a step further by analyzing how hosts and neighbors’ disclosure of descriptions simultaneously and interactively influences the review volume and performance of Airbnb listings. Based on a panel dataset and fixed effect regression models, the results confirmed the findings of prior studies that self-disclosure of descriptions has a positive effect on the review volume and performance. We also initially find a substitute effect between self-disclosure of descriptions and neighbors’ disclosure of public information, with a complementary effect between self-disclosure of descriptions and neighbors’ disclosure of private information. As a novel attempt to analyze the effect of neighbors’ information disclosure on property performance, this study provides important implications for relevant literature and for hospitality professionals to improve information disclosure strategies.