You never know what you will get in an Airbnb: poor communication destroys value for guests

ABSTRACT

This study explores the antecedents of value co-destruction in the context of a new form of accommodation, Airbnb. Data were gathered using semi-structured interviews from people who had stayed in Airbnb accommodations during the previous 12 months. A total of 21 interviews were conducted, of people representing five nationalities. Using the grounded theory approach, the findings indicate that poor communication between the guest and host was one of the main reasons contributing to value co-destruction during the Airbnb accommodation experience. From the guest perspective, value co-destruction due to poor communication resulted in unexpected resource losses, including time and money. One interviewee also regretted the lost experience. Although the majority of the interviewees did not have negative Airbnb accommodation experiences, some did not experience a reciprocal and mutually beneficial relationship.

KEYWORDS:

• Value co-destruction
• sharing economy
• Airbnb
• poor communication
• well-being

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

ORCID

Erose Sthapit http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1650-3900

Jano Jiménez-Barreto http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1953-6863

Additional information

Funding

This work of Erose Sthapit was supported by Etelä-Pohjanmaan Rahasto [Grant Number 2017]; The work of Jano Jiménez Barreto was supported by Spanish Ministry of Economy, Industry, and Competitiveness: [Grant Number ECO2015-69103-R].