A Critical Perspective on the Sharing Economy in Tourism Using Examples of the Accommodation Sector in Austria

In recent decades, services on digital platforms have become increasingly important in tourism. What started with concepts of exchange as a non- or less commodified practice of sharing accommodations (e.g., Couchsurfing) became exceedingly commodified in the platform economy on a global scale and turned into successful business models (e.g., Airbnb) with strong effects on traditional provider structures and local labour market. In Austria, the economic relevance of tourism traces back more than 100 years. Today, new forms of overnight stays, such as short-term rentals (STRs), have flooded the traditional tourism industry market with offerings in the accommodation sector and pose particular challenges in the housing market in Austrian cities. The COVID-19 crisis highlights the general volatility in tourism. Therefore, alternative business models seem to be more important than before. Discussing the relevance of hybrid sharing as a business model between market-based services and platform cooperatives in the global platform economy, domestic examples from Austria serve as an incentive for other countries to show new pathways in terms of alternative platform structures and work towards a less volatile economy. In doing so, national insights of regulations of global players and new guidelines of platform-based sharing are debated too. © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2022.

Covid-19 and Short-Term Rental in Portugal: Unpre-dictable Futures

This article presents the results of a pioneering online survey of short-term rental (STR) hosts (N=879) in Portugal about the impact of Covid on their activity, with a sample structured into four areas (Lisbon, Porto, Algarve and the rest of the country). Despite the very high losses, especially in the cities, most of the respondents intend to continue operating in the STR sector. A massive migration from STR to long-term rental is not predicted for a number of reasons, including financial, those related to the nature of this type of supply – more temporary – and the high level of distrust of the state, specifically in terms of guaranteeing legislative stability. In the cities, medium-term rental is the alternative most commonly considered, suggesting there may be a possible restructuring of the sector. Survival capacity over the medium term will depend on the degree of losses and type of public support received during the pandemic, which has benefited hosts constituted as companies more than the sole proprietorships. © 2023,Revista Portuguesa de Estudos Regionais. All Rights Reserved.

Urban tourism in Italy between pandemic and attempts to circumvent: the case of some metropolitan cities

Urban tourism had to deal with the critical effects of the pandemic, as it undermined one of the fundamental traits of modernity: the mobility of people and goods. Focusing on a group of Italian cities, this paper presents some theoretical issues, recent tourism trends and discusses the changes in tourist accommodations triggered by the Covid-19. The analysis, based on data from a range of sources (official statistics, google trends, InsideAirbnb and Airdna), shows the persistence of some trends already observed before the pandemic outbreak, with the risk of new expulsions and inequalities. © 2022 Franco Angeli Edizioni. All rights reserved.

The Political Economy of Housing Investment in the Short-Term Rental Market: Insights from Urban Portugal

Short-term rentals (STRs) emerged as holiday accommodations, disrupting the hospitality industry in the decade before COVID-19. Mainstream explanations for their growth revolved around digital tourism platforms like Airbnb as market disruptors and the sharing economy rationale. At the same time, critical scholars explored the capitalisation of greater rent gaps in urban central locations. However, these explanations are insufficient to explain the growth of STRs. We supplement them by building bridges between the urban political economy and the geographies of financialisation through the cases of Lisbon and Porto before the pandemic. The paper focuses on tourism-induced housing investment, taking a closer look at the profile of investors in association with STR property managers in the context of the late-entrepreneurial urban regime. We conclude that tourism development has allowed opportunities for housing financialisation through STR professionalisation, enhancing the allocation of interest-bearing capital in tourism-oriented real estate. © 2022 The Authors. Antipode © 2022 Antipode Foundation Ltd.

The Political Economy of Housing Investment in the Short‐Term Rental Market: Insights from Urban Portugal

Short‐term rentals (STRs) emerged as holiday accommodations, disrupting the hospitality industry in the decade before COVID‐19. Mainstream explanations for their growth revolved around digital tourism platforms like Airbnb as market disruptors and the sharing economy rationale. At the same time, critical scholars explored the capitalisation of greater rent gaps in urban central locations. However, these explanations are insufficient to explain the growth of STRs. We supplement them by building bridges between the urban political economy and the geographies of financialisation through the cases of Lisbon and Porto before the pandemic. The paper focuses on tourism‐induced housing investment, taking a closer look at the profile of investors in association with STR property managers in the context of the late‐entrepreneurial urban regime. We conclude that tourism development has allowed opportunities for housing financialisation through STR professionalisation, enhancing the allocation of interest‐bearing capital in tourism‐oriented real estate. (English) [ FROM AUTHOR] Resumen Los alquileres de corta duración (STRs en sus siglas en inglés) surgieron como alojamientos vacacionales, revolucionando la industria turística en la década anterior al Covid‐19. Las principales explicaciones sobre su irrupción apuntan a que las plataformas de turismo digital, como Airbnb, alteraron el mercado a través de la lógica de la economía colaborativa, mientras que voces críticas también han explorado la capitalización de brechas de renta más amplias en áreas urbanas centrales. Sin embargo, estas explicaciones son insuficientes para comprender el rápido crecimiento de esta tipología de alojamiento. Aquí se complementan tales ideas mediante la articulación entre la economía política urbana y las geografías de la financiarización a través de los casos de Lisboa y Oporto antes de la pandemia. El artículo se centra en la inversión inmobiliaria inducida por el turismo, examinando el perfil de los inversores privados en conjunción con las empresas de gestión de propiedades para alquiler turístico en el contexto del urbanismo empresarial tardío. Así, concluimos que el desarrollo turístico reciente ha ampliado el horizonte de financiarización de la vivienda gracias a la profesionalización del alquiler vacacional, maximizando los beneficios del capital invertido en bienes inmobiliarios para uso turístico. (Spanish) [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Antipode is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all s.)

The impact of COVID-19 on the short-term rental market in Spain: Towards flexibilization?

The Spanish real estate and its ‘sea and sun’ tourism model, were profoundly disrupted during the Great Recession of 2008–2014 As a result, hedge funds and their speculative operations have favoured an intense process of urban touristification in the largest Spanish cities, especially over the past ten years. The aim of this paper is to examine how the COVID-19 crisis has triggered shifts in the supply of short-term rentals and the type of demand of such rentals. By taking into account such changes, we will address the potential changes that the current pandemic scenario might bring between the ‘classical’ real estate market and short-term rentals in Spain.

Short-term rental market crisis management during the COVID-19 pandemic: Stakeholders' perspectives.

Contingency plans and crisis management strategies have been implemented by the short-term rental industry to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic. This paper examines the strategies adopted by three key groups of stakeholders: short-term rental platforms (e.g. Airbnb, Booking.com), service providers (represented by property management companies and short-term rental associations) and policymakers/tourism experts. The professional service providers, in particular, constitute a significant share of the short-term rental industry, but have not received much scholarly attention. In this respect, our study fills this gap by bringing attention to unexplored segments of the short-term rental industry. By examining and comparing the responses from these key groups, the paper contributes to the ongoing research about the workings of the short-term rental industry and its responses to the COVID-19 crisis.

The changing determinants of tourists’ repurchase intention: the case of short-term rentals during the COVID-19 pandemic

PurposeAdopting Ajzen’s theory of planned behaviour theoretical framework, this paper aims to explore repurchase intentions among short-term rental users and changes in determinants of repurchase intention in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.Design/methodology/approachData for the research was collected via a cross-country quantitative survey (N = 1,433) in five European countries: Croatia, Italy, Spain, Turkey and the UK during 2020. Trust, perceived value, authenticity and perceived risk were incorporated into the structural equation model as part of an integrated analysis of antecedents of repurchase intention.FindingsPerceived value and authenticity are the key drivers of a positive attitude to repurchase of short-term rentals even after the pandemic. The pandemic modified the role of perceived risk in determining attitude towards short-term rentals as perceived risks could negatively affect attitude and repurchase intention after COVID-19. Trust in the platform and the host became a significant determinant of repurchase intentions after the spread of COVID-19.Research limitations/implicationsThe analysis has shown the link between attitude, subjective norms, perceived behavioural control and repurchase intention, and has thus demonstrated a successful application of the theory of planned behaviour to short-term rental users.Originality/valueThe results of this study suggest a possible reconceptualisation of repurchase determinants due to the pandemic. The study offers a timely contribution to the research on the impact of the pandemic on the determinants of tourists’ repurchase intentions.

Consumers' perceptions of risks associated with the use of Airbnb before and during the COVID-19 pandemic

PurposeAfter the COVID-19 outbreak began, travel demand dropped sharply and the potential impact of COVID-19 on sharing accommodations appears to be significant. Thus, it would be meaningful to investigate how travelers have changed their perceptions of staying at sharing accommodations in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. The purpose of this research was to compare consumers' perceived risks of using sharing accommodations, such as Airbnb, before and during the coronavirus pandemic.Design/methodology/approachPaired sample t-tests were applied, using two surveys collected in 2017 (pre-pandemic) and 2020 (peri-pandemic). The effects of stress levels from COVID-19 and previous experience with sharing lodging services on risk perception changes were also examined.FindingsConsumers showed higher social, physical, performance and convenience risk perceptions during the pandemic. Not surprisingly, those respondents who were more conscious of the pandemic in terms of concern and anxiety had higher changes in their risk perceptions. In addition, changes in risk perception differed by consumers' usage experience.Originality/valueThe results of this study add to the body of knowledge about consumers' risk perceptions of the sharing economy, particularly in connection with a huge disruption such as the COVID-19 pandemic.