Do guests of the lodging industry really differ? A study into the users of shared and regular accommodations

Abstract

The accommodation sharing economy of which Airbnb is currently the best known and most widely used example, is generally viewed as an alternative within the accommodation sector. This has resulted in the image that the users of shared accommodations are different from the users of regular accommodations. A shared accommodation is the rental of a private residence or a room within a private residence to paying guests, while a regular accommodation is the rental of a place by a commercial enterprise. The aim of this study was to examine if and how the users of both types of accommodation differ within the Netherlands, and if the shared accommodations are used as a substitution for the regular accommodations. Besides, the impact of the corona pandemic on the accommodation choice has been examined. The data was used from a survey among 976 respondents that had made a trip with a least one overnight stay in the previous 24 months (from June 2021). After excluding all the missing cases, the final sample consisted of 529 cases, of which 95 respondents (sometimes) used shared accommodations and 434 respondents used regular accommodations. The author performed a logistic regression analysis and used descriptive statistics to examine the proposed model. The results indicated that the user profile and the interests in various activities were similar between the users of shared and regular accommodations, while the accommodation choice motives were slightly different. Moreover, most of the users of shared accommodations indicated that they would use a regular accommodation if there was no shared accommodation available which suggests substitution. Finally, the corona pandemic did not have an impact on the standard choice of accommodation. The findings implied that destinations should not focus on the accommodation type for attracting a certain type of tourist.