Airbnb pricing and term structure: A temporal analysis of omitted variable bias and repeat sales method as remedies

Abstract

Many tourism studies leverage the hedonic price model to gauge tourists’ willingness to pay for diverse attributes of short-term rental properties. However, when this estimation is applied to the temporal analysis, it can be biased if variables varying with time, such as term structure effects in short-term rentals, are omitted. This paper introduces a repeat sales Airbnb ADR (average daily rate) index to track the change in quality-adjusted rentals of Airbnb properties over time in Auckland, New Zealand, while factoring in the term structure. The findings confirm that using repeat sales data from Airbnb listings can significantly mitigate the bias linked to time-varying attributes. Results demonstrate that when the term structure is not considered, the ADR calculated by the hedonic method may be overestimated by 0.2% per day of the tenancy term. The inventive Airbnb ADR repeat sales index enables the assessment of Airbnb rental trends, taking into account changes in the term structure of leases. This new index can potentially enhance Airbnb listings by incorporating the effects of lease term structures.