Airbnb Users Research Articles

The effect of hedonic and utilitarian values on satisfaction and loyalty of Airbnb users

PurposeThe purpose of this study was to identify the relationship between customer values, satisfaction and loyalty in the context of Airbnb.Design/methodology/approachThe survey questionnaires were developed based upon review of previous studies. The samples were collected from US- based Airbnb users. The data were analyzed using structural equation modeling.FindingsThe result of this study indicates that first, Airbnb users’ hedonic value has a positive impact on satisfaction and loyalty, while utilitarian value influences only on satisfaction. Second, this study also shows that product involvement plays as a moderating role in the paths between hedonic value and customer satisfaction.Research limitations/implicationsStudy findings may help researchers understand the roles of hedonic and utilitarian values and their impacts on satisfaction and loyalty in the context of Airbnb. This study also contributes to Airbnb marketers in fulfilling users’ expectations about the company.Originality/valueThis research contributes to the hospitality literature by expanding the realm of research on Airbnb, which is a unique company applying the sharing economy concept in the lodging industry.

A model of tourists’ loyalty: the case of Airbnb

论游客忠诚模型：Airbnb案例分析摘要研究目的Airbnb是目前流行的大众提供住宿民宿的在线平台，其年收益已经超过很多连锁酒店，包括万豪和希尔顿在内。然而， 关于消费者如何消费和热衷于这种Airbnb民宿的原因还知之尚浅。本研究主要以Airbnb为题进行研究，其研究结果深刻讨论Airbnb相关概念，比如服务质量和酒店管理因素等， 以解释分析消费者行为动机和游客忠诚的联系纽带。研究设计本研究采用在线问卷采样的形式，Airbnb客人在线填写问卷，其样本经过结构方程模型（SEM）技术，以分析相关模型结构。研究结果本研究结果表明服务质量、社交体验、以及正宗的当地游客体验对于游客Airbnb忠诚度有着显著促进作用。饶有趣味的地方是，游客对于省钱和感知风险等方面并未对其Airbnb忠诚度有任何显著影响。研究价值在理论意义方面，本研究深刻探讨游客对于大众提供住宿服务的行为模式。在实践意义方面，本研究结果对细分客户市场的需求探索和营销策略制定方面有着特别贡献。

Who adopts the Airbnb innovation? An analysis of international visitors to Western Australia

ABSTRACTAirbnb is the most prominent example of novel peer-to-peer networks in tourism. This new form of accommodation provision may alter demand structures in tourism destinations and has led to uncertainty amongst established accommodation providers and destination marketers. To gain a better understanding of Airbnb adopters, this paper systematically compares actual travel behaviour of Airbnb users in a specific destination with that of visitors staying in traditional accommodation. Due to this controlled comparison, the paper is the first one to offer a robust comparative profiling of Airbnb users. The analysis is based on a logistic regression of data from the standardised International Visitor Survey for 2015 in Western Australia. Results indicate that Airbnb users in Western Australia differ from visitors staying in traditional accommodation, but that it might be wrong to conceive Airbnb adopters to be ‘alternative tourists’ beyond the mainstream.

The antecedents of perceived value in the Airbnb context

Purpose This study aims to examine the antecedents of perceived value in the Airbnb context using the variables of perceived benefits (i.e. monetary saving, hedonic benefit, novelty and social interaction) and perceived risks (i.e. performance, physical, psychological and time). Design/methodology/approach The study population was Airbnb users in South Korea. This study applied a survey research method using a questionnaire. A link to the survey was sent via e-mail to panel members of a multinational research company. Findings The results revealed the positive influence of monetary saving, hedonic benefit and novelty on perceived value and the negative influence of psychological risk on perceived value. Research limitations/implications The results of this study, which identified the specific factors that influence Airbnb users’ perception of value, can assist Airbnb managers and Airbnb hosts in developing appropriate marketing plans and strategies to enhance the value of their offerings. Originality/value This study provided empirical support to the inclusion of affective factors and risk in determining perceived value. Moreover, while previous Airbnb studies focused on consumers from Western countries (e.g. USA and Canada), this study used a sample of South Korean consumers.

Past experience, traveler personality and tripographics on intention to use Airbnb

PurposeThis study aims to identify the individual and trip characteristics that are associated with intention to use peer-to-peer accommodation, including past experience (users vs non-users), accommodation preferences, traveler personality and tripographic variables.Design/methodology/approachTo compare Airbnb users and non-users, quantitative research was conducted to test for group differences. A questionnaire was designed and administered face-to-face in major tourist areas. Quota sampling was used to ensure comparable samples of Airbnb users and non-users.FindingsWhile Airbnb users and non-users expressed few differences in their demographics and perceived importance of accommodation attributes, the two groups vary in their perception of Airbnb and evaluation of Airbnb compared to hotels, suggesting some positive and negative changes after experiencing Airbnb. Respondents who were more allocentric were more likely to use Airbnb. Hotels were preferred for traveling with family as well as shorter trips, while Airbnb was preferred for traveling with friends as well as longer trips.Practical implicationsThis study identified several challenges for Airbnb and other sharing platforms, including consumers’ security concerns, potential decrease in the likelihood of repeat usage and low likelihood of using Airbnb when traveling with family.Originality/valueWhile previous studies focused more on existing customers of peer-to-peer accommodation, this study compared users and non-users and identified key differences in their perceptions. The use of traveler personality and tripographic variables to examine intention to use Airbnb provides a unique perspective to consider Airbnb as an “allocentric destination” and the type of trips that are more compatible with the Airbnb experience.

Reputation offsets trust judgments based on social biases among Airbnb users.

To provide social exchange on a global level, sharing-economy companies leverage interpersonal trust between their members on a scale unimaginable even a few years ago. A challenge to this mission is the presence of social biases among a large heterogeneous and independent population of users, a factor that hinders the growth of these services. We investigate whether and to what extent a sharing-economy platform can design artificially engineered features, such as reputation systems, to override people's natural tendency to base judgments of trustworthiness on social biases. We focus on the common tendency to trust others who are similar (i.e., homophily) as a source of bias. We test this argument through an online experiment with 8,906 users of Airbnb, a leading hospitality company in the sharing economy. The experiment is based on an interpersonal investment game, in which we vary the characteristics of recipients to study trust through the interplay between homophily and reputation. Our findings show that reputation systems can significantly increase the trust between dissimilar users and that risk aversion has an inverse relationship with trust given high reputation. We also present evidence that our experimental findings are confirmed by analyses of 1 million actual hospitality interactions among users of Airbnb.

Living like a local: Authentic tourism experiences and the sharing economy

AbstractTravellers are demanding authentic, experientially oriented opportunities with more meaningful interactions with locals. The sharing economy has emerged partly as a response to these consumer trends with major potential impacts for tourism. This research investigated the phenomenon of authenticity‐seeking tourism and its links to the hospitality sector through consumer choices related to accommodation offered by sharing economy providers. It explored the relationship between perceived authenticity of the “local” experience and its significance when purchasing accommodation. The three themes of unique accommodation interiors and atmosphere, interactions with hosts, and interactions with local culture were found to be important to Airbnb users.

Shared experience in pretrip and experience sharing in posttrip: A survey of Airbnb users

This research focuses on travelers’ use of shared experiences during their pretrip decision-making and their posttrip behavior in sharing their experiences. On the basis of information processing and literature on experience sharing, we developed hypotheses on how travelers make their purchase decisions on a smart tourism platform, adopting the experiences shared by others (pretrip), and how the quality of their travel experience and perceived information discrepancy affected their behavior in sharing their experience (posttrip). By testing these hypotheses using survey data from 411 Korean users of Airbnb, we draw conclusions on how firms should manage the flow of travelers’ experience information and design smart tourism platforms.