Airbnb in America during the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Guest Perspective

Background of the study: The unprecedented global economic shutdowns and country wide quarantines caused by the threat of a deadly virus (COVID-19) signifies the demand for research into how consumer behavior has changed within the hospitality and tourism industries. The sharing economy has experienced significant growth in popularity over the past decade and has established itself as a disruptor to traditional hospitality establishments, but will it be able to withstand this catastrophic shock (Dolnicar & Zare, 2020) to the hospitality industry? This represents the significance for research into consumers’ purchase intentions towards platforms such as Airbnb. Purpose of the study: This study proposes and tests a model based on the Theory of Reasoned Action, Risk, Trust, and Health to analyze determinants of travelers’ intentions to book travel accommodations on Airbnb during the pandemic. How can consumer purchase intentions with the threat of health and safety within hospitality be theoretically divided into distinctive functional and symbolic components? How has the threat of COVID19 changed Americans’ purchase intentions towards Airbnb? What determinants influence consumers purchase intentions towards Airbnb during the pandemic. Methodology: An online survey was conducted using Amazon Mturk in August 2020 to American travellers. The survey contained three sections (i) travel behaviour questions; Airbnb experience before and during COVID-19 outbreak (ii) constructs adapted from previous research measured with 5-point Likert Scale, and (iii) sociodemographic questions. Scales adapted from previous literature are as follows: Attitude towards Airbnb (Z. Mao & Lyu, 2017), Subjective Norm (Amaro, Andreu, & Huang, 2019), Attitudes towards Health and Sanitation (Zemke, Neal, Shoemaker, & Kirsch, 2015), Trust-in-host (Z. (Eddie) Mao, Jones, Li, Wei, & Lyu, 2020), Non-pharmaceutical Interventions and Perceived Risk (Lee, Song, Bendle, Kim, & Han, 2012), Intention (Amaro et al., 2019). Results were analyzed using a combination of structural equation modeling and multi-linear regression analysis. Results: Using structural equation modelling we found that three factors are strongly associated with purchase intention toward Airbnb - attitude towards Airbnb, subjective norm, and trust-in-host. Furthermore, purchase intention towards Airbnb during the COVID-19 pandemic was also positively influenced by attitudes towards health and sanitation, previous experience booking travel accommodations through Airbnb, and the use of non-pharmaceutical interventions. With regard to the perceived risk measured by the perception of COVID-19 and the perceived risk of traveling in the U.S. during the pandemic, research findings reveal that neither of these items have an impact on the intentions to book travel accommodations on Airbnb. Conclusions: The recommended length of this section is approximately 100 words. This study presented and tested an integrative model to examine which factors influence American travelers intentions to book Airbnb travel accommodations during the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings show that COVID-19 does not have a significant impact on travelers’ purchase intentions towards Airbnb. Findings do show the most significant determinants to purchase intentions are trust, attitude towards Airbnb, and subjective norm. Findings all show the importance of keeping in consideration health and sanitation protocols and the use of non-pharmaceutical interventions. Research implications and limitations: Academically, this study contributes to tourism and hospitality research by analyzing antecedents/determinants to purchase intentions during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study extends and contributes to the TRA literature and showcases the impact of added constructs such as Trust-in-host, non-pharmaceutical interventions, and attitude towards health and sanitation. Managerial implications confirm the importance of cleaning and sanitation protocols and cultivating and maintaining and trusting relationship with consumers. References: Amaro, S., Andreu, L., & Huang, S. (2019). Millenials’ intentions to book on Airbnb. Current Issues in Tourism. https://doi.org/10.1080/13683500.2018.1448368. Dolnicar, S., & Zare, S. (2020). COVID19 and Airbnb–Disrupting the disruptor. Annals of Tourism Research. Guttentag, D. A., & Smith, S. L. J. (2017). 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