Performing “home” in the sharing economies of tourism: the Airbnb experience in Sofia, Bulgaria

Abstract

This article explores how “home” is performed in the emerging sharing economies of tourism, drawing on the example of Airbnb in Sofia, Bulgaria. Based on an (auto)ethnographic approach, this article analyses the sometimes contested ways in which both hosts and guests engage in the everyday embodied practices of home-making. In doing so, it challenges Airbnb’s essentialized idea of home as a site of belonging, “authenticity” or “localness”. It also shows how the political and historical specificities, as well as the materialities of people’s homes significantly shape the ways in which ordinary practices of homemaking play out and consequently affect feelings of (un)homeliness as part of the Airbnb experience. By using performance theory as an analytical framework, this article seeks to contribute to a critical understanding of the contemporary geographies of home in relation to the global sharing economies of tourism, one that is attuned to openness, interrelatedness, and a constant mode of becoming.

What motivates people to become Airbnb hosts – do we know enough? — an exploration of the literature

“…Biopolitics, home and community in the Airbnb dream-world of global hospitality" takes on a unique perspective investigating the deeper host pains and sociological and psychological costs of participating in peer-to-peer activities. On a similar path, Roelofsen explores and discusses home as a place of belonging versus the Airbnb world as a place of performing (Roelofsen, 2018). The positive emotions of hosting go hand-in-hand with submitting and renegotiating one's most intimate, affective space and private sphere.…”

“…This definition underlines the potential advantages for the organisation that has employees who demonstrate psychological ownership. Similarly, employees who exhibit psychological ownership are likely to engage in organisational citizen behaviour, which is defined as "employee behaviour that is not essential in completing job (Malazizi et al, 2018) Stress from guest expectations and guest reviews (Zhang et al, 2019) The sacrifice of the "proper" privacy and intimacy (Roelofsen & Minca, 2018) Renegotiating one's most intimate, affective space and practices (Roelofsen & Minca, 2018) Sharing the spaces of intimacy (Roelofsen, 2018) Guests expect deep homely, intimate experiences from the hosts' personal space (Roelofsen & Minca, 2018) People Cultural learning (Zhang et al, 2019) Ease of operations (Zhang et al, 2019) Allows people who have a desire for stronger communities to create and maintain social connections (Tussyadiah & Pesonen, 2015) Guest reviews both motivate hosts to share more information and give hosts a sense of pride; Social interaction and friendship (Malazizi et al, 2018) Perceived credibility of peer online profile, peer-to-peer (P2P) face-to-face interaction reciprocity, P2P rapport and P2P dyadic trust were particularly important factors in determining the positive perception (Moon, Miao, Hanks, & Line, 2018) The monetary aspect serves as a gateway to the social interaction and many of the "most valued" intrinsic benefits of hosting such as the gratification of being a good host and several "ancillary benefits" (Lampinen & Cheshire, 2016) Enjoying the freedom of working as a micro-entrepreneur without (or with less) hierarchies (Zhang et al, 2019).…”

Becoming Airbnbeings: on datafication and the quantified Self in tourism

“…Methodologically, this has implied a systematic analysis of our own experiences as hosts, as well as those of other Airbnb hosts. Accordingly, we have first carried out in-depth face-to-face interviews with 18 Airbnb hosts held during our empirical investigations of Airbnb in various European locations as part of a broader project whose main results are published elsewhere (see (Roelofsen, 2018a;2018b;Roelofsen & Minca, 2018)). In these interviews, we asked our participants about the importance of reviewing and rating, and what effects this form of user-driven auditing culture had on their hosting practices.…”

“…Oftentimes ignoring local urban planning regulations, these operators use Airbnb to rent out residential housing to tourists rather than local residents. As such, the housing stock is moved from long-term to short-term rental markets, in this way adding to the already problematic local housing availability of certain cities (Arias Sans & Quaglieri Dom ınguez, 2016; Roelofsen, 2018a;Wachsmuth & Weisler, 2018). The subsequent rise of housing-and rental prices (e.g.…”

Dialogical peer-review and non-profit open-access journal publishing: welcome to Fennia

“…Via a thorough empirical analysis, based on a study in Sofia, Bulgaria, Roelofsen (2018) makes explicit the inherently contested nature of home that appears in the everyday experiences and practices of this sharing economy. The article goes on to raise questions of how the home is conceived, presented, performed and put into circulation by the various actors involved in the Airbnb business, including importantly, related value production.…”