Have
you ever used Airbnb or other peer-to-peer accommodation services when
travelling? If yes, you are likely to travel more than you used to, you
choose your destination from among a wider set of alternatives, and you
are more active in your destination.
Peer-to-peer
accommodation services such as Airbnb have changed travel patterns in
many ways, according to a recent study from the University of Eastern
Finland and Washington State University. The study provides new insight
into how the availability and use of peer-to-peer accommodation services
affect travel patterns. The findings were published in Journal of
Travel Research.
The study found that
tourists are interested in peer-to-peer accommodation services due to
social and financial reasons. Users of peer-to-peer accommodation
services are often in social interaction with their hosts, and
peer-to-peer accommodation services are a cost-effective alternative to,
for example, hotels.
Financial savings
achieved by using peer-to-peer accommodation services make it possible
to broaden the selection of destinations and the number of trips, while
the social aspects inspire people to travel more in general and to stay
in their destination for a longer period of time. Financial savings -
together with tips from hosts - also increase tourists' activeness in
their destination.
From the viewpoint of
destinations, the findings are extremely positive. The availability of
peer-to-peer accommodation services in the destination increases the
number of tourists, makes them stay for a longer period and increases
the demand for tourism-related services and activities.
Extensive US and Finnish data
An extensive set of tourist data was collected for the study both in Finland and in the US.
In Finland, 1,246
persons took part in an online panel, and 295 of them had used
peer-to-peer accommodation services. In the US, 799 persons completed an
online survey, and 155 of them had used peer-to-peer accommodation
services. The study focused on respondents who had used peer-to-peer
accommodation services.
The popularity of
peer-to-peer accommodation services has witnessed rapid growth
throughout the world. For example, Airbnb offers accommodation services
in 190 countries and in more than 34,000 cities. There are over 60
million Airbnb users around the world, and its popularity is not showing
any signs of decline.