Can peer-to-peer accommodations act as lodging a stepping-stone for mega-events?

As cities bid for large-scale conventions, they are frequently thwarted by not having sufficient lodging capacity. At the same time, adding new hotels can have negative long-term effects on the city's lodging industry. Drawing on choice theory, this study postulates that one viable solution may be peer-to-peer accommodations, especially during the recovery stage of the post-COVID-19 environment. In this work, researchers conducted a two-part survey of 1212 participants. Results indicate that there were both business and leisure participants whose first choice was a P2P accommodation (20% business: 35% leisure). Between hotel and P2P accommodation travelers, though, there was a significant difference. For those who indicated that a peer-to-peer accommodation was their first choice, location, number of reviews, and star rating were ranked as the most important aspects of an accommodation. The relative importance of the variables differed by type of accommodation (e.g., shared room, etc.).     

Accommodation decision-making during the COVID-19 pandemic: Complexity insights from Greece

With the remaining ambiguity around COVID-19 effective treatment, the decision-making process for 2020 tourists remains fraught with complexity. Drawing from a sample of 385 permanent Athenian residents, the study explores the decision-making attributes driving their accommodation purchasing preferences in times of increased uncertainty. The complex dynamics are investigated using fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis. A complementary analysis evaluates the size effect of the examined conditions using Necessary Condition Analysis. In total, four solutions are generated concerning: (i) health and safety; (ii) the price-quality nexus; (iii) risk aspects; and (iv) quality related health and safety. The study contributes towards the initiation of the theoretical discourse on the foundations of the exploration of tourists’ accommodation choice triggers and dilemmas in times of pandemics. The results inform market intelligence with regard to accommodation-related customer priorities, perceptions and intentions during the pandemic which lay several important managerial implications for the accommodation industry.     

Use numbers not words! Communicating hotels’ cleaning programs for COVID-19 from the brand perspective

After hotels in many countries were forced to close in government-imposed lockdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic, there is an inherent need to communicate how they deal with the coronavirus to motivate guests to visit. However, lack of knowledge about how to persuasively communicate about hotels’ cleaning programs for COVID-19 can challenge the industry’s survival. We investigated how hotels that position their brand as a particular personality (sincere vs. exciting) could benefit from different communication styles (inclusion of numerical vs. verbal quantifiers) when presenting their COVID-19 cleaning procedures. Study 1 explored tourists’ central attitudinal responses toward hotels’ cleaning programs. Study 2 demonstrated that sincere hotel brands would benefit from using numerical and verbal quantifiers to communicate their cleaning policies, whereas exciting hotel brands would benefit only from numerical quantifiers. Our results invite hotel managers to use their brand personality positioning to influence tourists’ attitudes and intentions in a pandemic context.     

Effect of CSR contribution timing during COVID-19 pandemic on consumers’ prepayment purchase intentions: Evidence from hospitality industry in China

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) contributions are essential for hospitality companies during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, little is known about how CSR contribution timing during the pandemic might affect consumers’ prepayment purchase intentions. This paper takes a hospitality company as an example, using two experiments to explore (a) the effect of CSR contribution timing on consumers’ prepayment purchase intentions and (b) the potential roles of psychological contracts and distance to the COVID-19 risk center. Study 1 demonstrated that CSR contributions during the COVID-19 outbreak (vs. after its peak) led consumers to have higher prepayment purchase intentions, revealing the impact of CSR contribution timing. This effect was also driven by psychological contracts between consumers and the hospitality company. Study 2 showed that, when participants were in the peripheral area of a COVID-19 outbreak, CSR contributions during the outbreak (vs. after its peak) increased prepayment purchase intentions whereas the opposite effect occurred when consumers were in the risk center.     

Sensing the virus. How social capital enhances hoteliers’ ability to cope with COVID-19

In this study, we propose a broad conceptual model that incorporates social capital dimensions and problem-solving routines to understand the determinants behind hotel managements’ perception of and ability to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic—and thus, to innovate their service offering. We provide empirical support for the notion that, due to uncertainty about reopening after lockdown, the hospitality sector has found existing problem-solving routines to be of little use. Although the local community has been unable to form a shared vision around the pandemic, hoteliers have nevertheless relied on their network of relationships to sense the crisis and find their own ways to adapt. Interestingly, we find that overreliance on trustworthy relationships can diminish the ability to sense a crisis objectively. Our results not only shed light on sensemaking in the hotel industry, but also grapple with the theoretical nature of sensemaking as a socially constructed process.     

Impacts of Covid-19 on peer-to-peer accommodation platforms: Host perceptions and responses

The Covid-19 pandemic has brought international tourism at a standstill. Peer-to-peer (P2P) accommodation, in particular, has been greatly affected with platforms being heavily criticised for lacking a strategic response to users’ needs. Drawing from semi-structured interviews with P2P accommodation hosts, this study aims to explore: a) their perceptions of the short-term impacts of the pandemic on their hosting practice, b) their responses to the pandemic and c) their perceptions of the long-term impacts of the pandemic on the P2P accommodation sector. The study offers a continuum of host pandemic responses which illustrates different types of hosts in relation to their market perspective and intention to continue hosting on P2P platforms. The continuum carries theoretical implications as it offers insights to academics exploring crisis impacts on P2P accommodation. It is also of practical value to platforms and practitioners as it may lead to improved crisis management strategies.     

Covid-19 and tourism vulnerability

The COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically impacted tourism and leisure activities worldwide, especially in the hospitality sector. This paper has a conceptual and empirical motivation based on two objectives. First, it identifies several of the primary factors behind the vulnerability of tourism to COVID-19 (tourism dependency, market structure, the supply of rural accommodation, and health incidence of the pandemic). Second, it constructs a vulnerability index to COVID-19 using Spain and its 50 provinces as case. The main results obtained indicate that tourism to the Balearic Islands, the Canary Islands, the provinces of the Mediterranean coast, and Madrid, in which the state capital is located, present higher vulnerability to COVID-19, yet with different underlying factors. Our methodology and results are of interest to policymakers in terms of the short- and medium-term strategic policies that can be employed to mitigate current and future shocks.     

When empathy prevents negative reviewing behavior

Previous research has found that peer-to-peer platforms have overly positive reviews. Guided by Construal Level Theory, this research investigates the relationship between social distance, empathy, and tourists’ intention to leave negative online reviews. The first study is a qualitative analysis which compares peer-to-peer settings (i.e., Airbnb) to institutional ones (i.e., Booking.com), and explores whether social closeness hinders tourists’ willingness to provide negative online reviews to express their poor experiences. The second and third study are laboratory studies which show that the mechanism behind reviewing biases is the activation of empathy.This research offers practical implications for both traditional hospitality players, on how to activate empathy, and online platforms operators, on how to increase the reliability of their reputation systems.This article also launches the Annals of Tourism Research Curated Collection on Peer-to-peer accommodation networks, a special selection of research in this field.     

The evolution of ‘Airbnb-tourism’: Demand-side dynamics around international use of peer-to-peer accommodation in Australia

This paper investigates the evolution of Airbnb and other peer-to-peer accommodation use by international visitors in Australia over 12 quarters, from 2015 to 2017. It applies a dynamic logistic regression to investigate how user characteristics associated with peer-to-peer accommodations evolve over time. This study contributes to understanding the development of consumption patterns around the Airbnb phenomenon. It is also the first paper to investigate the consumer dynamism in the peer-to-peer accommodation sector beyond Airbnb. Findings indicate that Airbnb consumption has evolved, showing patterns of convergence and ‘normalisation’, supported by a growing Asian participation and increasing regional stays. This dynamism is not shared by other platforms, which suggests peer-to-peer accommodation is becoming a single-platform story rather than a thriving broader accommodation-category.This article also launches the Annals of Tourism Research Curated Collection on Peer-to-peer accommodation networks, a special selection of research in this field.     

The impact of COVID-19 on European tourists' attitudes to air travel and the consequences for tourist destination evoked set formation

We study how risk conditions derived from the COVID-19 pandemic may impact on both the desire to travel and intention to visit of tourists and, therefore, on different stages of the destination choice process. We analyse 5134 million flight searches and 379 million flight picks during 2020 for the 17 largest European tourism source markets. An unweighted index number is employed to measure the average variation for searches and picks, for the year 2020, in relation to the reference base period (year 2019). This is done for air travel in general and to Spain specifically. The study then proceeds to conduct an analysis of 17 international travel destinations that are in the evoked sets of the two largest outbound markets in Europe (Germany and UK). We also identify which markets are most favourable to Spain. The research design can inform cost-efficient marketing decisions in a situation of high uncertainty.     

文化距离对旅游目的地选择的影响--以日本和中国大陆出境游为例

在全球化和出境旅游日益发展的大背景下,了解国家文化和文化差异对出境旅游的影响越来越重要。文章以日本和中国出境旅游市场为案例,定量研究客源国与目的地国家之间的文化差异对旅游者出境旅游目的地选择的影响。文章数据来源于对日本和中国城市居民的一手数据,包括受访者的过往出境目的地选择和计划前往目的地选择情况。条件Logit模型的估计结果显示,日本居民在过往目的地和计划前往目的地的选择上都显著偏好总体与日本文化差异大的国家。具体而言,他们偏好在“权力距离”和“不确定性避免”维度差异较小,而在“集体主义“”性别气质”和“长远考虑”维度差异较大的目的地。相比而言,中国大陆居民在出境目的地选择上受文化距离的影响较少。     

The measurement of spatial variations in tourist activity

This paper looks at the problems of using physical accommodation capacity figures to identify spatial variations in the level of tourist activity and considers the implications for the interpretation of Defert's tourist function index. An analysis of accomodation use patterns in New Brunswick, Canada, shows considerable differences in the intensity of use among the various forms of accommodation. A closer look at hotel and motel occupancy characteristics also reveals large spatial variations, but their combined effect on the relationship between physical accommdation capacity and yearly tourist use shows little variation over space. It is concluded that Defert's index is a most useful tool for examining tourist activity in areas where most accommodation is in the form of hotels and motels, but should be interpreted with caution where there are large spatial variations in the types of accommodation available.     

Understanding the impact of host facial characteristics on Airbnb pricing: Integrating facial image analytics into tourism research

People rapidly and subconsciously process information from facial images. On sharing economy platforms, facial cues can provide a useful supplement to other information provided by reputation systems. Previous small-scale, rater-informed studies examining trust and attractiveness based on facial features on Airbnb found mixed support for impacts on pricing. We re-examine their impact using deep learning to classify host faces for an extensive data set of Airbnb accommodation in 10 US cities (n = 78,215). Together, trust and attractiveness contribute to almost a 5% increase in prices for Airbnb accommodation. We also test Gray's theory of motivation via the examination of pricing for different types of accommodation, finding that trust is more important in situations of smaller accommodation shared with strangers. The paper concludes with limitations and implications for research and practice.     

The construction of home feeling by Airbnb guests in the sharing economy: A semantics perspective

Although the literature of peer-to-peer accommodation is increasingly recognizing the importance of home feeling, little has been done to theorize the construction of home feeling and its impacts on Airbnb guests’ future intention. To fill in this gap, this study systematically unpacked how Airbnb guests construct the feeling of home. A total of 42,085 review comments containing the feeling of home from three major cities in the USA were analyzed from a semantics perspective. Based on our findings we conceptualize home feeling as a PASS_h process, which contains multiple dimensions: physical and spatial, social, and affective, coupled with hospitality. Essentially, the home feeling with the interaction of these dimensions fulfills the daily hybrid needs of the guests.This article also launches the Annals of Tourism Research Curated Collection on Peer-to-peer accommodation networks, a special selection of research in this field.     

The self-catering accommodation market: A review of electronic and other sources

This paper contributes to a better understanding the self-catering accommodation sector by considering its nature and scope within Scotland, the UK and the international context. It reviews the available literature search and also presents an exhaustive search of the Internet. The term “self catering accommodation” typically refers to cottages and holiday flats, but also may include larger premises as well as mobile units such as boats. Student accommodation comes into this category, as do serviced apartments for business use. Self-catered accommodation is widely used for activity holidays, and courses for outward-bound or country pursuits. The sector is considered in terms of economic impact, ownership, and mode of use, and an analysis of the market shows that it has grown and changed rapidly since the 1980s driven by changes in the economy and advances in technology. During the same period demand has increased due to demographic, economic and lifestyle changes, the predominant segments being older and middle-aged customers and young couples without children. The growth of short break holidays and a growing interest in country pursuits and activity holidays favour the self-catering sector.     

Physical aspects

This article examines current approaches and trends in tourism which could have a significant effect on physical planning and design in the 1990s. Demographic and social changes will affect demand. Improvements in transport will facilitate travel, and the communications revolution will provide more choice and control for the individual. Government policies effected via investment and regulations influence all aspects of tourism. The design of holiday accommodation will be influenced by the demand for budget hotel accommodation and functionally flexible living space in unserviced accommodation. Holiday developments will be subject to more stringent planning restrictions in terms of siting and design to comply with environmental considerations.     

Travel shaming? Re-thinking travel decision making amid a global pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has placed the notion of “travel shaming” under the spotlight—tourists are concerned about being criticized for traveling during the pandemic. Yet the broader idea of travel-induced shaming, conceptualized as ethics-based evaluations in this paper, has not drawn much attention as consequence-based assessments in travel-related risk research. This paper presents two studies revealing a) how ethics- and consequence-based risk evaluations influence individuals' travel attitudes/intentions and b) how message framing about responsible travel affects travel shame and individuals' intentions to travel responsibly. Using structural equation modeling, Study 1 suggests that consequence- and ethics-based evaluations play key roles in predicting travelers’ attitudes/intentions to travel. Moreover, social trust and self-efficacy significantly affect both types of risk evaluations. Study 2 adopts an experimental design and shows that, compared with loss-framed and controlled message conditions, gain-framed messaging can reduce travel shame and encourage tourists to travel responsibly. Theoretical and practical implications were discussed.     

Mindset matters in purchasing online food deliveries during the pandemic: The application of construal level and regulatory focus theories

Online delivery providers (ODPs), representing a growing hospitality industry sector, are playing an unprecedented role in the coronavirus pandemic. Applying construal level theory and regulatory focus theory, this research investigates how the interplay of construal mindsets and message frames affects consumers’ purchase intention regarding online food deliveries during the pandemic. Two 2 × 2 experiments were conducted in severe and mild pandemic regions and revealed different results in consumers’ responses. Specifically, promotion-framed messages are more effective when matching a “how” construal mindset in severe regions. In contrast, promotion-framed messages are more persuasive in conjecture with a “why” construal mindset in mild pandemic areas. Besides, the persuasion process is mediated through self-efficacy in severe regions but through perceived benefit in mild regions. The study also reveals different moderating effects of risk propensity in the two regions. The findings provide guidelines for ODPs in engaging consumers with online food delivery services.     

Influences on coastal tourism demand and substitution behaviors from climate change impacts and hazard recovery responses

Climate change impacts can negatively affect tourism demand and, subsequently, local economies by disrupting access and altering physical conditions, including those from adaptation and recovery efforts. Research is needed that helps destinations become more climate ready, including studies of decision factors that influence trip-taking behaviors. This paper presents findings from a discrete choice experiment to determine how physical and economic changes could affect visitation behaviors to a vulnerable coastal destination, the Outer Banks region of North Carolina, USA. We embedded our experiment within an on-site visitor survey to reveal thresholds of negative changes to coastal attributes that tourists are willing to tolerate, and also examined tourists’ willingness to substitute their future trips to the region. Transportation-related changes had the highest relative importance among the four selected attributes. The likelihood of three types of spatial substitution, spurred by not being able to access the destination, were consistently related to residency but less consistently related to place meanings, visitation history, and other demographic variables. Study results can inform climate change planning within coastal zones to minimize negative impacts to tourism demand, such as the need to develop creative revenue streams to maintain resilience in communities that rely on occupancy taxes.     

Stakeholders’ views of travelers’ choice of Airbnb

This study investigated the views of travelers’ choices of informal accommodations, Airbnb in Hong Kong from the perspectives of three stakeholders. A qualitative approach was applied, both interviews and focus group discussions were conducted. A total of 69 participants shared their views on why users choose Airbnb over traditional hotels. The findings highlighted that hoteliers and Airbnb users presented different rankings on the determinants of accommodation choice. The implications of the destination image and the population density were discussed. The findings of this study can serve as a reference for any city/country where has a similar cultural background and population density.