Estimation of an attribute value peer-to-peer accommodation platform using a choice experiment: focus on Airbnb

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this study is to identify individuals’ preferences for the information attributes of Airbnb, a representative peer-to-peer (P2P) accommodation platform. In the sharing economy, platforms are considered to be the principal intermediaries in supply and demand, and these platforms have distinctly different attributes from traditional accommodation reservation systems. Design/methodology/approach The present study used a choice experiment, which is a method for systematically identifying attributes’ preferences in the form of marginal willingness-to-pay (MWTP). Amazon Mechanical Turk, a crowdsourcing marketplace, was used for data collection, and 243 respondents ultimately participated in the survey. Findings Results showed that respondents’ choices were positively affected by the number of pictures of an accommodation, host experience, cancellation policy and local information but negatively affected by cost. Regarding MWTPs, host experience had the highest value (US$84.25), followed by cancellation policy (US$40), photos (US$26.67) and local information (US$10.92). Originality/value These study results could provide strategic guidance for guiding the development of P2P accommodation platforms by providing a prioritized list of preferred attributes for Airbnb.