Risk Perceptions of Airbnb Hosts: Evidence from a Mediterranean Island

Abstract

In the context of the sharing economy, Airbnb has become a formidable mode of accommodation in the tourism industry worldwide, with a presence in over 34,000 cities in 191 countries. However, the risks associated with online bookings are significant dimensions of this e-market domain. This study assesses Airbnb hosts' perceived risks and investigates the effects of service, financial, safety and security, psychological and political risks on the host's satisfaction and intention to continue and recommend this business to potential hosts. A survey was administered to 221 Airbnb hosts located in Northern Cyprus. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to test the proposed conceptual model. The results revealed that host satisfaction is negatively influenced by financial and safety and security risks; continuance intention is negatively affected by financial, safety and security, and political risks; intention to recommend this business is negatively affected by political risk; and psychological risk increases satisfaction and intention to continue and recommend. By highlighting the theoretical and managerial implications, this study informs Airbnb management of the potential risks associated with this peer-to-peer (P2P) business in order to minimize the associated risks, enhance host satisfaction and the quality of their services, and encourage hosts to recommend Airbnb to their peers.

Conceptualizing the Sharing Economy through Presenting a Comprehensive Framework

“…The first case study refers to Airbnb, which is at the forefront of accommodation services with a peer-to-peer perspective around the world, and is, therefore, considered to be one of the pioneers in SE activities [98]. This company has been analyzed as a SE company in various scientific research studies [3,32,[99][100][101][102][103][104]. The other case studies refer to four companies belonging to the same sector, namely the field of transportation, including Car2go, Uber, BlablaCar, and Lyft.…”

“…Airbnb is one of the most reputed companies in the SE, and has been analyzed in many scientific studies from different points of view [99][100][101][102][103][104]. This company was originally founded in the United States, but its activity has expanded to 191 countries [100].…”

“…This company was originally founded in the United States, but its activity has expanded to 191 countries [100]. The revenue, operating income, and net income for Airbnb, in 2017, has been estimated as $2.6 billion, $450 million, and $93 million, respectively [132].…”

Authenticity and Commodification: A Visual Analysis of P2P Tourism Accommodation Listing Page

“…Topics such as guests" motivations, satisfactions, and P2P attributes are the frequently researched (Belarmino et al, 2017;Choi et al, 2015;Guttentag, 2015;Lalicic & Weismayer, 2017;Tussyadiah, 2015). On the other hand, research on hosts tends to focus on hosts" trustworthiness and reputation (Ert, Fleischer, & Magen, 2016;Malazizi, Alipour, & Olya, 2018). Research on how the hosts position and promote local authentic experiences is severely lacking.…”

Can Location-Based Social Media and Online Reservation Services Tell More about Local Accommodation Industries than Open Governmental Data?

“…Malazizi et al analyzed the perception of psychological risks by 221 Airbnb hosts in Northern Cyprus [18]. Brauckmann analyzed possible collisions between the "sharing economy" in hospitality and urban property markets via spatial analytics of Airbnb data and official statistics in Germany [3].…”