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.     

Analysing behavioural differences between e- and m-bookers in hotel booking

This study analysed the behavioural differences between e- and m-bookers in online hotel booking. The theoretical relationships among functionality and usability, perceived value for money and time, and satisfaction and loyalty were analysed based on the quality–satisfaction–loyalty framework. Results from a sample of 431 and 401 e- and m-bookers, respectively, affirmed the similarities and differences between the two types of bookers. Results also showed that e- and m-bookers substantially differ in their perceptions on functionality and usability performance, perceived value for money and relative importance of functionality and usability in online hotel booking. Moreover, the findings revealed the moderating effects of perceived value for money and time on the satisfaction–loyalty link among m-bookers.     

Do Airbnb’s “Superhosts” deserve the badge? An empirical study from China

The “Superhost” badge is that Airbnb entitles the host provides good services. This study verifies Airbnb’s “Superhost” mechanism by applying text mining technologies, combined with Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) and K-Means, to the entire dataset of tourists’ online reviews of Hangzhou city, China. Six kinds of hosts’ good services are identified, including “Three Meals or Night Snacks,” “Fruits, Drinks or Snacks,” “Travel Guides,” “Free Shuttle or Helping with Luggage,” “Chats,” and “Replies or Communications.” The study reveals the minority of “Superhosts” are mentioned of providing the majority of six kinds of good services, which means “Superhosts” do deserve the badge.     

Online distribution of airline tickets: Should airlines adopt a single or a multi-channel approach?

In today's digital world, airlines typically distribute tickets both via their own websites and through online travel agency (OTA) platforms such as Expedia and Travelocity. Although associated with higher distribution costs, selling tickets through the platforms offers airlines exposure to a broader consumer base, and potentially higher sales than selling tickets solely through their own websites. While most airlines have adopted a multi-channel approach by selling tickets through OTA platforms and their websites, some (e.g., Southwest Airlines, easyJet and Ryanair) sell only via the latter. Is one approach better than the other, and if so, under what circumstances? This study analyzes factors that affect an airline's distribution strategy by developing a decision support model. We find that airlines are less likely to use OTA platforms if they have a large loyal consumer base or if the OTA platform is highly competitive.     

An overview of Internet-based surveys in hospitality and tourism journals

Survey research has reached an era when the Internet is commonly used as a research tool in different fields of study. Yet, the use of this method in tourism and hospitality research has not been fully explored. This study provides a state-of-the-art assessment of journal publications in the past ten years to reveal how the Internet has been incorporated into tourism and hospitality research. Various aspects of online research in tourism and hospitality are identified via reviewing relevant articles retrieved from the EBSCOhost.     

Web-based GIS in tourism information search: Perceptions,tasks, and trip attributes

People’s strategies and choices to utilize tourism information have shifted dramatically over the years following ubiquitous access to the Internet. Despite the fact that many tourism information searches on the Internet involve geo-spatial information through WebGIS, little is known about tourists’ behavioral patterns with this media. The purpose of this study was to examine tourists’ trip situations, tasks, and perceptions toward WebGIS. An electronic survey method and multiple regression technique were used to collect and analyze data. Findings indicate that ‘usefulness’ and ‘playfulness’ were the key factors that determined the level of usage and interaction. Users showed distinct behavioral tendencies under different trip situations and task performances when searching tourism information using WebGIS.     

Web users’ behavioural patterns of tourism information search: From online to offline

This paper presents a conceptual framework of Web users’ engagement in tourism information search for a comprehensive understanding of their integrated online and offline search behaviour. The information search experiences are characterised as a process constituting some common elements: prior knowledge and searching experiences, online searching strategies, processing and recording information, barriers to online searching, reasons for ending an online search, summarising information, exchanging information and searching for more information through other sources. Such behaviour goes beyond the scope of information searching and captures the other activities, including information processing, utilising and disseminating. The grounded theory research method is employed as an inductive investigative process in which the authors construct the framework by systematically collecting and analysing data. The aim of this research method is to build a theory. The data sets consist of both semi-structured in-depth interviews with subjects and their field observations based on online searching. A theoretical model incorporating 10 propositions is proposed for future testing.     

Efficient local IV estimation of an empirical auction model

In this paper we examine semiparametric efficiency bounds and efficient estimators for the case of a linear local instrument variable (LIV) model under the assumptions studied in Abadie et al. (2002). We apply the semiparametrically efficient estimation method to analyze the relation between bid dispersion and early bidding in an online auction dataset, which is collected from a natural experiment conducted in Nekipelov (2007). The results confirm the theoretical findings developed in Nekipelov (2007). The semiparametric efficient estimation procedure substantially improves the statistical significance of the effect of jump bidding on bid dispersion.     

UGC的表现形式对网络营销效果的影响研究——以微博为例

随着Web2.0的兴起,用户创作内容（UGC）的概念应运而生,迅速发展并逐渐成为供应商组织生产、商家营销宣传以及消费者购买产品的利器.本论文梳理了UGC相关研究的分类和趋势,并选择微博作为平台,采用情景实验法,探究UGC的表现形式（文本、图片、音视频）对网络营销效果的影响,在此基础上为企业进行更大范围的社会化媒体营销（如博客、SNS社区等）提供策略性建议与营销思路,有效提升UGC互动的效用,在理论和实际应用上都有着显著意义.     

Helpful Reviewers in TripAdvisor,an Online Travel Community

Online communities need a critical mass for communication, information, and entertainment and should provide useful information for their members in order to obtain this critical mass. The abundance of online travel reviews increases cognitive costs of travelers, and travelers use extrinsic cues to judge the quality of online reviews to eliminate costs associated with the information process. Of various cues used in online environments, this study examined an online reputation system in TripAdvisor.com and profiled the reviewers who post helpful reviews in the online travel community. The key findings include that helpful reviewers are those who travel more, actively post reviews, belong to any age and gender groups, and give lower hotel ratings. This study adds to research of online travel reviewers by characterizing helpful information creators among online content creators.