Hellenic Open University

Master in Business Administration

Postgraduate Dissertation

“The impact of sharing economy into the tourist landscape is nowadays considered as a threat to the existing hotel industry.

The Airbnb case.”

Anna Liana

Supervisor: Christy Agapitou

Patras, Greece, May 2018

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“The impact of sharing economy into the tourist landscape is nowadays considered as a threat to the existing hotel industry.

The Airbnb case.”

Anna Liana

Supervising Committee

Supervisor: Co-Supervisor: Christy Agapitou Dimitris Folinas

Patras, Greece, May 2018 “Anna Liana”, “The impact of sharing economy into the tourist landscape is nowadays considered as a threat to the existing hotel industry.The Airbnb case.”

Abstract

Daily, million of tourists prefer not to stay in a hotel but stay at the home of an unknown who is online via Airbnb. Airbnb is an electronic platform through which everyday people rent their own premises as tourist accommodation. Airbnb, which was founded in 2008, grew very fast in recent years, to such an extent that it is now being discussed that it threatens the traditional sector of residence. Because of its recent appearance, so far little research has been done on Airbnb. Particularly, few researchers have explored the important issue of why many tourists use this kind of platforms. Therefore, this study has purpose to examine why tourists decide to stay at Airbnb accommodation. This thesis focused on investigating the incentives that attract tourists to use Airbnb and the segmentation of Airbnb users in line with these incentives. Finally, Airbnb tourists' expectations were compared to their expectations for hotels in order to assess the possible weaknesses of Airbnb and hotel accommodation. The research tool used for this study was a quantitative survey through internet. Most respondents were approached through web pages and Facebook groups in relation to online routes. In total 152 questionnaires were completed. The survey included the exploration of the knowledge and use of this platform, a comparative analysis of the levels of agreement and a disagreement with the various incentives to highlight how important the practical factors for Airbnb's choice are. The results show that the hotel industry is actually exposed to Airbnb's existence and clearly disputes the view of Airbnb that it complements and does not compete with hotels.

Keywords

Sharing Economy, Peer-To-Peer, Electronic Word Of Mouth, Airbnb

Postgraduate Dissertation iv “Anna Liana”, “The impact of sharing economy into the tourist landscape is nowadays considered as a threat to the existing hotel industry.The Airbnb case.”

Περίληψη

Καθημερινά, εκατοντάδες χιλιάδες τουρίστες επιλέγουν να μην διαμείνουν σε ένα ξενοδοχείο, αλλά να παραμείνουν στο σπίτι ενός αγνώστου που βρίσκεται online μέσω της εταιρείας Airbnb. Η Airbnb είναι μια ηλεκτρονική πλατφόρμα μέσω της οποίας οι απλοί άνθρωποι ενοικιάζουν τους χώρους τους ως καταλύματα για τουρίστες. Η Airbnb, η οποία ιδρύθηκε το 2008, αναπτύχθηκε πολύ γρήγορα τις τελευταίες χρονιές, σε τέτοιο μεγάλο βαθμό που συζητείται τώρα ότι απειλεί τον παραδοσιακό κλάδο της διαμονής.

Δεδομένης της πρόσφατης εμφάνισής της, μέχρι στιγμής έχει πραγματοποιηθεί περιορισμένη έρευνα σε σχέση με την Airbnb. Συγκεκριμένα, λίγοι ερευνητές έχουν διερευνήσει το σημαντικό ζήτημα γιατί πολλοί τουρίστες χρησιμοποιούν τη υπηρεσία. Συνεπώς, ο σκοπός αυτής της μελέτης ήταν να διερευνήσει γιατί οι τουρίστες επιλέγουν να παραμείνουν σε καταλύματα Airbnb. Η μελέτη επικεντρώθηκε στην διερεύνηση των κινήτρων που προσελκύουν τους τουρίστες στην Airbnb και στην κατάτμηση των χρηστών Airbnb σύμφωνα με αυτά τα κίνητρα. Τέλος, οι προσδοκίες των τουριστών από την Airbnb συγκρίθηκαν με τις προσδοκίες που έχουν για τα ξενοδοχεία προκειμένου να εκτιμηθούν οι ενδεχόμενες αδυναμίες της Airbnb αλλά και των ξενοδοχειακών καταλυμάτων.

Το ερευνητικό εργαλείο που χρησιμοποιήθηκε για την μελέτη αυτή ήταν μια λίγων λεπτών ηλεκτρονική έρευνα. Το μεγαλύτερο μέρος των ερωτηθέντων προσεγγίστηκε μέσω σελίδων και ομάδων σε σχέση με τα ταξίδια στο internet . Συμπληρώθηκαν 152 ερωτηματολόγια.

Η έρευνα περιελάβανε διερεύνηση της γνώσης και χρήσης της συγκεκριμένης πλατφόρμας, συγκριτική ανάλυση στα επίπεδα συμφωνίας και διαφωνίας με τα διάφορα κίνητρα για να τονιστεί η σημασία των πρακτικών παραγόντων για την επιλογή της Airbnb.

Τα αποτελέσματα που προέκυψαν δείχνουν πως ο ξενοδοχειακός κλάδος όντως απειλείται από την ύπαρξη του Airbnb και αμφισβητεί ξεκάθαρα τον ισχυρισμό της Airbnb ότι συμπληρώνει και δεν ανταγωνίζεται τα ξενοδοχεία.

Postgraduate Dissertation v “Anna Liana”, “The impact of sharing economy into the tourist landscape is nowadays considered as a threat to the existing hotel industry.The Airbnb case.”

Dedication

For Nicoletta, my most welcome and beloved disruption

Postgraduate Dissertation vi “Anna Liana”, “The impact of sharing economy into the tourist landscape is nowadays considered as a threat to the existing hotel industry.The Airbnb case.”

Table of Contents

Abstract ...... iv Περίληψη ...... v Dedication ...... vi Table of Contents ...... vii List of Figures ...... ix List of Tables...... x List of Abbreviations & Acronyms ...... xi 1 Introduction ...... 1 1.1 Introduction ...... 1 1.2 Purpose and objectives of the survey ...... 2 2 Literature review ...... 5 2.1 Tourism as a product ...... 5 2.1.1 Definition-Categories ...... 5 2.1.2 Tourism in Greece ...... 6 2.1.3 New technologies and tourism ...... 7 2.2 Sharing economy ...... 9 2.2.1 Defining sharing economy ...... 9 2.2.2 Drivers of sharing economy ...... 12 2.2.3 Sharing economy limitations ...... 13 2.3 Sharing economy accommodations ...... 15 2.4 The case of Airbnb ...... 17 2.4.1 History of Airbnb ...... 17 2.4.2 Airbnb description ...... 18 2.4.3 Airbnb experience ...... 19 2.4.4 Airbnb SWOT analysis ...... 21 2.5 The effects of Airbnb on the conventional accommodation industry ...... 22 2.6 Previous investigations / Research gap and questions ...... 24 2.7 Research questions ...... 26 2.8 Methodology ...... 26 2.8.1 Types of research ...... 26 2.8.2 Design and structure of the questionnaire ...... 27 2.8.3 Sample selection ...... 28 2.8.4 Collection of data ...... 29 2.8.5 Special features of research ...... 29 2.9 Questionnaire ...... 30 3 Results – Data analysis ...... 31 3.1 Demographic data...... 31 3.2 Travel habits of respondents ...... 33 3.3 Participant relation with sharing economy platforms ...... 37 3.4 Incentives for tourists to choose Airbnb in relation to traditional accommodation...... 39 3.5 Airbnb/hotel deficiencies ...... 43 4 Conclusion ...... 45

Postgraduate Dissertation vii “Anna Liana”, “The impact of sharing economy into the tourist landscape is nowadays considered as a threat to the existing hotel industry.The Airbnb case.”

4.1 Conclusions ...... 45 4.2 Limitations ...... 47 4.3 Recommendations for further research ...... 47 References ...... 49 Appendix A: “Questionnaire” ...... 53

Postgraduate Dissertation viii “Anna Liana”, “The impact of sharing economy into the tourist landscape is nowadays considered as a threat to the existing hotel industry.The Airbnb case.”

List of Figures

Figure 2.1: Home sharing companies ...... 15 Figure 3.1: Gender ...... 31 Figure 3.2: Age ...... 32 Figure 3.3: Annual income ...... 32 Figure 3.4: Preferred travel companion ...... 33 Figure 3.5: Frequency of travel per year...... 34 Figure 3.6: Duration of stay ...... 34 Figure 3.7: Reasons for organizing trips ...... 35 Figure 3.8: Factors through selecting accommodation ...... 35 Figure 3.9: Sources of information about hotel choice ...... 36 Figure 3.10: Meaning ...... 37 Figure 3.11: Identification of the Airbnb electronic platform ...... 37 Figure 3.12: Using the Airbnb Electronic Platform ...... 38 Figure 3.13: Using the Airbnb accommodation ...... 38 Figure 3.14: Reasons for first use of the Airbnb online platform ...... 39 Figure 3.15: Features noticed before confirmation ...... 39 Figure 3.16: Compare Airbnb offers to hotel offers ...... 40 Figure 3.17: Reason for choosing Airbnb ...... 41 Figure 3.18: Airbnb satisfaction ...... 42 Figure 3.19: Probability of using Airbnb in the future ...... 42 Figure 3.20: Benefits of hotels ...... 43 Figure 3.21: Expectations ...... 44

Postgraduate Dissertation ix “Anna Liana”, “The impact of sharing economy into the tourist landscape is nowadays considered as a threat to the existing hotel industry.The Airbnb case.”

List of Tables

Table 2.1: Sharing economy definitions ...... 9 Table 2.2: Sharing platforms across industries ...... 10 Table 2.3: Sharing platforms depending on user interaction ...... 16

Postgraduate Dissertation x “Anna Liana”, “The impact of sharing economy into the tourist landscape is nowadays considered as a threat to the existing hotel industry.The Airbnb case.”

List of Abbreviations & Acronyms

GDP Gross domestic product …. … …

Postgraduate Dissertation xi “Anna Liana”, “The impact of sharing economy into the tourist landscape is nowadays considered as a threat to the existing hotel industry.The Airbnb case.”

1 Introduction

1.1 Introduction

In recent years Greece has been in the midst of a financial crisis. A sector that has been slight affected by this crisis is tourism. Tourism for the Greek economy has been and is one of the most important pillars of growth and revenue inflow. Its contribution to the country's GDP was 18.6% in 2016, while its contribution to employment was 860.315 (23.4%) (SETE, 2016).

Tourism as a business is based on information, promotion and advertising, as it is impossible to make an ex-ante evaluation of the product. So, in order to take a decision, the tourist is based on the information obtained through multiple channels.

Nowadays, the most popular source of information is the Internet and, according to recent surveys1, is the most popular way of planning tours for tourists. It is recognized that the internet has a great influence on many fields of the tourist industry. (booking process, customer reviews, etc.). Though peer-to-peer short-term rental services (PSRs) and especially Airbnb platform may lead to a qualitative innovation in the touristic landscape, as it was several centuries ago the introduction of the first magnificent luxury in the middle of the twentieth century that change the whole tourist landscape.2

Accommodation is traditionally provided by businesses such as hotels or rented rooms. Thus, recent years, especially with the development of the Internet, new types of tourist interactions have been created that enter the economy of common use to tourism, in so far as the sector of the Greek hoteliers is threatened.

The sharing economy is a business model from people doing business through a virtual market with no other persons acting as indermediates. According to Denning (2014) “consumption of goods or services is based on shared access rather than the exclusive possession of resources by the market community”3. Moreover, Botsman (2013) explains that “the sharing economy is defined as an economic model based on the exchange of

1 Google Travel Study 2 Economist, 2013b, Levy-Bonvin, 2003, Sandoval-Strausz, 2007 3 Denning, 2014

Postgraduate Dissertation 1 “Anna Liana”, “The impact of sharing economy into the tourist landscape is nowadays considered as a threat to the existing hotel industry.The Airbnb case.” unused assets from spaces to skills that are offered for monetary or non-monetary benefits”4.

There has been increasing interest in research concerning the gradual growth of the adoption of the sharing economy in tourism. Goods and services exchange between individuals is not a new practice, however internet growth has led to the creation of online platforms that facilitate sharing. Sharing economy platforms have become extremely popular and have changed the way with whom we travel.

One of the most exciting examples of the sharing economy is Airbnb - an online platform where people can book room / stay and travel experiences. The definition the Airbnb itself provides for its platform ia "a social site linking people who have room for exchange with those who seek a place to stay". The company, founded in 2008, presented on its website that it had more than 2.5 million listings in 191 countries worldwide during January 2017, which translates to Airbnb offering more rooms for accommodation than Hilton Worldwide.

1.2 Purpose and objectives of the survey

Every day, huge numbers of tourists choose accommodation at a foreigner's home via Airbnb instead of staying in a hotel. The Airbnb. Given its recent occurrence, so far limited research has been conducted on Airbnb. The assumption is that choosing Airbnb substitutes choosing accomondation in hotels, something that affects hotel revenues.

Therefore, the purpose of this study is to investigate why interested parties select Airbnb accommodation. The study focuses on exploring the attractive incentives that attract tourists to Airbnb in relation to hotels of various categories.

Thus the aim of this research is to offer the missing imformation nessessary to understand the preference of tourists to online peer to peer platforms, focusing specifically on the Airbnb case.

4 Botsman 2013, p. 6

Postgraduate Dissertation 2 “Anna Liana”, “The impact of sharing economy into the tourist landscape is nowadays considered as a threat to the existing hotel industry.The Airbnb case.”

The research tool is an electronic questionnaire, consisting mainly of multiple choice scale and Likert scale questions. The questionnaire focuses on a post-hoc cluster analysis of Airbnb visitors, based on their motivation to use the particular service.

The research purpose will be addressed by answering the following research questions:

1. What are the incentives for tourists to choose Airbnb in relation to traditional accommodation? 2. What are the characteristics of these Airbnb users with regard to the relevant variables, including demographics and travel and accommodation characteristics? 3. What is missing from hotels and what is missing from the Airbnb accommodation compared to hotels?

The first research question focuses on investigating the incentives of visitors for the selection of Airbnb. The second research question examines the characteristics of Airbnb users. However, these two questions focus on the positive reasons why visitors choose Airbnb while ignoring the possible Airbnb disandvantages that visitors obviously tolerate. Visitors' perceptions of these disandvantages are important to understand Airbnb's choice over other accommodation choices. For this reason, the third research question was formed to examine Airbnb's potential shortcomings, thus completing the other two questions by providing an overall analysis of why tourists choose Airbnb.

This study will try to contribute both practically and conceptually to the matter under investigation. Practically attempts to offer a deeper understanding of why tourists prefer Airbnb, information that could be of value to a variety of stakeholders. Market fragmentation is essentially “a strategic tool that can provide a competitive edge by guiding marketing practices” (Dolnicar, 2008). Understanding consumer choices about their preference for Airbnb may lead accommodation owners either to make informed decisions about the best way of marketing to Airbnb users or to assess whether there is a possitive effect after these marketing efforts. Results are also useful for destination marketing organizations and other tourism businesses, as potential Airbnb visitors' motivation to use the service (etc. locally authentication) may point to more general features of consumer preferences. In addition, the expected return of Airbnb and hotels to various accommodation features provides valuable information about the strengths and

Postgraduate Dissertation 3 “Anna Liana”, “The impact of sharing economy into the tourist landscape is nowadays considered as a threat to the existing hotel industry.The Airbnb case.” weaknesses of both hotels and Airbnb. These results have practical implications for both marketing and product development.

In addition, the results on the possible use of Airbnb as an alternative for other types of accommodation could contribute to the understanding of the effects of Airbnb on the traditional area of residence. The question of transforming tranditional residential areas to Airbnb, is nowadays an issue discussed within the industry; consequently, this knowledge can potentially present the possible threat posed by Airbnb to the traditional area of residence more accurately, and in turn, the importance of the active response to Airbnb's appearance.

Additionally, this study also offers conceptual value to these practical contributions. Airbnb is part of the wider "distribution economy" and researchers are now beginning to understand why individuals are taking part in this new form of trade. Consequently, the present dissertation helps to understand the incentives for using shared-use services. Finally, this study also contributes to the understanding of growing trends in tourism, especially with regard to the choice of accommodation and the attractiveness of non- traditional tourist accommodation.

Postgraduate Dissertation 4 “Anna Liana”, “The impact of sharing economy into the tourist landscape is nowadays considered as a threat to the existing hotel industry.The Airbnb case.”

2 Literature review

2.1 Tourism as a product

2.1.1 Definition-Categories According to the World Tourism Organization “Tourism comprises the activities of persons travelling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes not related to the exercise of an activity remunerated from within the place visited.”5

Tourism is a social, economic and cultural phenomenon, which has played an important role in the lives of most people. Its development and development is continuous, since it is considered a volatile activity that can affect not only each individual person but also the environment in which it occurs. Nevertheless, there is "bias" that tourism is an exclusive synonym for recreation and enjoyment, and it is an important phenomenon with a major impact on the social, cultural and social spheres.

The tourism sector has grown to be considered one of the most important economic activities in Greece. However, in order to be properly scientifically approached, an in- depth knowledge of its operating mechanisms at home and international level and, of course, the proper economic analysis is needed.

A traveler generally travels for leisure or work, usually for a limited time rather than for a long time. Tourism can be considered as a pleasure trip, including tourism theory and practice, hospitality and business tours. Tourism can be divided into tourism in the country of the traveler or internationally. The first concerns the journey made only within national borders, where there are no language, currency or documentation obstacles. The second concerns international travel, which includes the demand of documentation, understanding of various languages and use of different currencies. International travel can be further divided into inbound tourism -where tourists leave their country of origin to travel to another country- and outbound tourism -referring to tourists entering a country from their own country-.

The determinants of tourism are:

1. Length of stay - the travel should be short-term, specifically in less than a year.

5 United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO)

Postgraduate Dissertation 5 “Anna Liana”, “The impact of sharing economy into the tourist landscape is nowadays considered as a threat to the existing hotel industry.The Airbnb case.”

2. Purpose of the travel - the main purpose of the trip can be different from doing an activity at the place visited. 3. Distance traveled - someone must travel away of the place of residence to be a tourist.

Also, the tourism sector has some specific traits, which makes it different from other industries:

1. In tourism, the product is not offered to the consumer. Conversely, the consumer has to travel and go to the product to enjoy it. 2. Unlike other industries, tourism products do not exhaust the natural resources of a country. 3. Tourism is a people-oriented industry. A timeless motivation for tourists is to meet other people and see their habits and their everyday life. 4. In addition, the tourism industry can be described as seasonal. During the holidays, millions of people travel to any part of the world, which has the effect of increasing revenue for various countries. 5. Finally, the tourism industry is dynamic industry. Changing consumer beliefs, stances and attitudes every year is one aspect that the tourism sector needs to take into account and should always be ready to adapt and adjust policies in line with these changes.

2.1.2 Tourism in Greece Tourism in Greece, is a key element of the country's economic activity. Greece is an important destination for decades, from antiquity, for its rich history and for its long coastline.

Greek tourism started to develop in the late 1960s and particularly in the early 1970s. The first Greek hotel unit was created in 1968 in Lassithi. Since the start of the boot, many accommodations and choices have appeared throughout the country. During this period, major hotel and other construction projects were carried out and the country saw an increase in international tourists. Over the next few decades Greece has managed to become one of the most popular tourist destinations among Europeans.

Postgraduate Dissertation 6 “Anna Liana”, “The impact of sharing economy into the tourist landscape is nowadays considered as a threat to the existing hotel industry.The Airbnb case.”

As referred in bibliography –includind statistical data-, the main natural attractions of Greece represent “approximately 16.000 km of coastline and 2.500 islands, an average of 300 sunny days a year, unique flora and fauna and climate with mild winters and hot summers”. It is also reffered that “the main cultural attractions are the heritage of Greek civilization with approximately 25.000 registered and protected monuments and archaeological sites, museums and about 500 typical traditional villages” (Buckley & Papadopoulos, 1986, Buhalis, 2001, p. 449).

Changes that have taken place in Greek tourism during the last years, were mainly consequences of the worldwide and Greek economic crisis. However it can be claimed that tourism in Greece has shown quick sighns of recovery, in contrast to other sectors.

According to the 2013 Travel & Tourism Competitiveness6, which is calculated by the World Economic Forum (WEF), Greece ranked at 32nd position among 140 countries. In the same year it ranked 25th on the basis of rich cultural resources, 13th based on health and hygiene conditions and on the 3rd place in regard to its tourism infrastructure. In general, Greece has a strong national affection towards tourism in comparison to other European countries and generally open and positive attitude towards tourists (WEF, 2013, p. 16).

2.1.3 New technologies and tourism Tourism has always been a complex area, since it attempts to satisfy the needs and desires of individual people or large population groups, with an important parameter, being large geographical distance between the customer and the product. In modern times, business products that take up space in the tourist industry are becoming more and more competitive. The exploitation of new technologies and the internet play the most important role in enhancing this competitiveness.

Internet has become the most important tool for organizing one’s travels and is a guide to tourism, since it offers unlimited possibilities for both business and consumers. Travellers

6 1Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index (TTCI) is designed to measure the factors and policies that influence theattractiveness of the development of the tourism sector in different countries. The index was developed through the cooperation of various organizations and businesses related to tourism, and is based on three basic categories of variables that affect the competitiveness of the tourism sector. These categories are summarized in 3 subindexes: Regulatory framework, Business environment and infrastructure and Human, cultural and natural resources of the tourism sector. Each sub-index is composed of a number of pillars of competitiveness of the tourism sector, which are all together 14 and combine many individual variables (WEF, 2013, p. 4-5).

Postgraduate Dissertation 7 “Anna Liana”, “The impact of sharing economy into the tourist landscape is nowadays considered as a threat to the existing hotel industry.The Airbnb case.” are increasingly using the Internet to collect information concerning their future journeys and even bookings and the purchase of part or all of the tourist product are largely made over the Internet. As reported in the 2010 Travel Committee report, 64% of leisure travelers and 65% of business travelers have used the Internet to plan their travels, including air tickets and hotel accommodation7.

It is now a coomon practice that a gradually increasing number of turists are searching for information about products / services on different social media channels and less on established media, television, radio, magazines, etc. According to an Incites Consulting survey conducted in 19 countries in 2012, six out of ten Internet users visit a social networking site at least once a day and 50% of them publish information on products, brands and companies, unlike traditional means of communication where the consumer is a passive messenger. Social media has been widely used by individuals to look for and organize their travels and to exchange and comment on their travel related experiences through blogs, online communities and many other travel fora.

The involvement of users in the production of this media content has “highlighted a new form of word-of-mouth communication, e-Word of Mouth (e-WOM), which allows for a particularly wide dissemination of information between consumers and consumers - consumers in every corner of the globe” (Sparks and Browning, 2011). Social media and blogs can easily affect tourist flows to specific destinations. Consumers as social media users can now search for information from a larger crowd when deciding to purchase or select a product that includes not only personal acquaintances and relations, but also strangers from any possible part of the world.

The growth of social media and the resulting differentiations it caused in user behavior create new circumstances for tourism businesses that need to adapt in a timely and effective way to take advantage of emerging marketing opportunities and survive in environmental competition such as tourism.

7 https://books.google.gr/books?id=KKIrBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA9&lpg=PA9&dq=European+Travel+Commissi on+2010+internet+use&source=bl&ots=Q_zCxGCE8l&sig=lWa9jC- 3w4Z5VkhlyzaiZFgOkJI&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiW57e7w4DcAhXFApoKHVm5C08Q6AEIVDA G#v=onepage&q=European%20Travel%20Commission%202010%20internet%20use&f=false

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2.2 Sharing economy

2.2.1 Defining sharing economy The sharing economy is a newly emerging peer business model. According to this model, individuals are doing exchanges in a virtual environment without any other interventions. Goods and services consumption is now based on access that is common and shared, instead of the exclusive possession of resources by the traditional market. In particular, the sharing economy can be defined as an "economic model based on the exchange of unused sets from spaces to skills to make monetary or non-monetary benefits"(Botsman 2013, p. 6).

There are various terms used to describe sharing economy such as “collaborative consumption” (Botsman& Rogers, 2012), “consumer sharing system” (Lamberton& Rose, 2012), “access-based consumption” (Bardhi&Eckhardt, 2012), and “the mesh” (Gansky, 2010), (Belk, 2014).

Different researchers have created and used different names and definitions, which in total assist the description and understanding of this recently emerged phenomenon.

Table 2.1: Sharing economy definitions Authors Definitions Lamberton&Rose, “Marketer-managed systems that provide customers with the 2012, p. 109 opportunity to enjoy product benefits without ownership.” Bucheretal., “An economic model in which consumers use online tools to 2016, p. 318 collaborate in owning, renting, sharing, and trading goods and services. A practice enabled and driven by technology.” Botsman&Rogers, “Traditional sharing, bartering, lending, trading, renting, gifting, 2012, p. 15 and swapping, redefined through technology and peer communities.” Bardhi&Eckhardt, “Consumption models in which access is enabled through sharing or 2012, p. 881 pooling of resources/products/services redefined through technology and peer communities.” Botsman 2013, “Economic model based on sharing underutilized assets from spaces p. 6 to skills to stuff for monetary or non-monetary benefits.”

The main characteristic and at the same time the purpose of sharing economy is to provide access, moving away from the traditional ownership. Common needs, namely housing, transportation, products, and finance, are all now covered by sharing economy offerings.

Postgraduate Dissertation 9 “Anna Liana”, “The impact of sharing economy into the tourist landscape is nowadays considered as a threat to the existing hotel industry.The Airbnb case.”

In addition, there are many industry fields that have included the model of sharing economy in the conventional business model. Sharing economy gives the opportunity to customers to use an alternative way of consuming from renting, swapping, or sharing instead of buying a new product or service, according to their personal needs. This process of sharing greatly contributes to the utilization of previously unused resources.

The table below present platforms that has been developed, based on sharing economy, and refer to different professional areas/industries.

Table 2.2: Sharing platforms across industries Type Activity Example FINANCE Money Lending Lending Club Zopa Crowd-funding Crowdfunder Kickstarter Crypto currencies Bitcoin Peercoin

GOODS Bespoke goods Etsy CustomMade Pre-own goods Craigslist Thereadffip Loaner products Rent the runway 1000tools

SPACE Work space Pivotdesk ShareDesk Place to stay Airbnb HomeExchange Rental Optimization SmartHost EverBook

TRANS- Transportation Uber BlaBlaCar PORTATION Loaner vehicles DriveNow Boatbound Driver Optimization ZettaDriver SherpaShare Taxisharing Taxibeat Taxifortwo.co.uk Uberpool

LOGISTICS Local Delivery Postmates UberRush Shipping Friendshippr PiggyBee Storage Boxbee MakeSpace

COPORATE Private label Button NearMe Supply Chain LocalMotion CargoMatic Employees Service WarpIt TwoGo

SERVICES Professional Services Freelancer.com eDesk Personal Services TaskRabbit popexpert

FOOD Shared food EatWith MealSharing BonAppetour

Postgraduate Dissertation 10 “Anna Liana”, “The impact of sharing economy into the tourist landscape is nowadays considered as a threat to the existing hotel industry.The Airbnb case.”

Type Activity Example Share food prep KitchenSurfing Munchery Reusing of food FoodCowboy FoodLoop

LEARNING Instructor-led Udacity Coursera Peer to peer SkillShare Instructables

UTILITIES Energy Mosaic Vandebron Telecommunications Open Garden Fon

Lastly, collaborative consumption happens within peer communities. For example sites like facebook, instangram etc. have created through the years a new way of sharing personal data with people except family and friends. This could be the first step of sharing economy that has to do with properties, transportation and money.

Το ενδιαφέρον και η συμμετοχή στο μοντέλο της κοινής οικονομίας αυξήθηκε σημαντικά τα τελευταία χρόνια και κατέστη ένα ενδιαφέρον ερευνητικό φαινόμενο. Η οικονομία κοινής χρήσης θεωρείται τώρα ως μια δύναμη που θα μπορούσε να αλλάξει και να διαμορφώσει έναν νέο τρόπο κατανάλωσης και επιχειρηματικής λειτουργίας.

Researchers are now intrigued by this new phenomenon of sharing economy due to the increasing interest and participation through the last years. Sharing economy is now considered to be the most powerful procedure that could change the way of consuming.

Views on the distribution of the economy differ between researchers. Part of them are convinced that this new phenomenon is a "disruptive business model" that can overcome traditional regulations and threaten current operations8. In contrast, some believe that the public opinion about the model of economy stems from the current economy situation and will be developed along with the consumer model as an other w of doing business. There is no doupt that though the future of common economy in not clear, sharing economy will have a gradually increasing impact on both financial and societal way levels. Thus, the distribution of the economy is an interesting phenomenon worth further research.

8Guttentag, 2013

Postgraduate Dissertation 11 “Anna Liana”, “The impact of sharing economy into the tourist landscape is nowadays considered as a threat to the existing hotel industry.The Airbnb case.”

2.2.2 Drivers of sharing economy Technological driver

Nowadays, individuals all over world could exchange ideas, personal data, properties and even experiences over geographical boundaries. The sharing economy, therefore, is based on the advanced technology. In essence, “the act of sharing is a further step of online sharing habits: beginning with sharing photos, comments, files, and videos online extending to physical areas such as space, transport, and other areas in daily life” (Botsman & Rogers, 2012; Denning, 2014; Lahti & Selosmaa, 2013).

Economic driver

Financially speaking, the sharing economy has a positive effects on both providers and users.

Firstly, providers can have a financial advantage from a source that they already own. A personal possession can become an source for its owner to have an additional income. Sharing economy platforms, offer the opportunity to individuals to start a business using their own personal resources. Also, the sharing economy platforms provide the option of managing these resources. So, “an individual could leverage the infrastructure of a large platform to market their products or services” (Botsman & Rogers, 2012).

Another point to consider is that sharing economy contributed to the creation of competitive circumstances in an until now stable environment. This led to the better and more competitive pricing of products, while at the same time, it assisted to the improvement of their quality. The sharing economy transaction process can be thought to be more efficient and user friendly since advanced technology contributes greatly to this end. Though the transaction process in sharing economy platforms is constantly optimized, the same cannot be claimed for the disintermediate model.

Social driver

Various reasons can explain these impressive development of the sharing economy when examined from a social point of view. Smolka & Hienerth (2014) say that “sharing is a primary motive of a human being”. Researchers have noticed that during their observance of people sharing all kinds of commodities and behaviours. In the same way, internet users exchange ideas, information and knowledge.

Postgraduate Dissertation 12 “Anna Liana”, “The impact of sharing economy into the tourist landscape is nowadays considered as a threat to the existing hotel industry.The Airbnb case.”

Additionally, “collaborative consumption provides sustainable solutions to solve consumer environmental concern” (Firnkorn & Müller, 2011). Nowadays, both marketing and mass production have led to the further growth of an already consuming society, with the rapid and continuous development of products that meet customer demands.

2.2.3 Sharing economy limitations Sharing economy has not only advantages, but also threats, which might negatively impact its future developments.

Market

“Sharing goods and services may negatively affect the consumer market. In line with the classical supply and demand theory if the demand fall, price is adopting and falling as well”9.

When a product is in circulation through sharing economy, the price gradually established for it may be lower that the price of the same product available in tha standard market. Despite the fact that the price can be readjusted in the standard market, customers will not prefer it, unless its price is similar of that on a sharing platform. Gradually products of coomon goods will no loger be produced and in effect this may cause a further society impoverishment.

Decentralization

Sharing economy can be seen as a return to a more free and back to ‘basic’ form of financial exchange and commerce. Nevertheless, goverments loose control over such financial activities –meaning no control over production, taxes, VAT, insurance, etc.-, while companies may loose control over their profits.

For instance, an Uber driver cannot be audited neither controlled regarding income or insurance issues respectively. Additionally sharing economy cannot ensure the avoidance of illegal financial activities.

9 David P. Goldman, Spengler November 12, 2016

Postgraduate Dissertation 13 “Anna Liana”, “The impact of sharing economy into the tourist landscape is nowadays considered as a threat to the existing hotel industry.The Airbnb case.”

Legal Issues

Sharing economy is a comparatively new phenomenon lacking legal frames and regulations. Baker (2014) has argued that “business models within sharing economy work, because they break the law, they avoid paying taxes, their services are beyond any regulations and the consumers are not protected in the sufficient manner”. He also pinpoints that “the currently available law can only partially cover all issues connected with sharing and free access”. Morgan and Kuch (2015) suggested that “sharing economy through its nature is forcing legal authorities to redefine and reconfigure the definition of property, ownership and capital in the new way”. On the other hand, McLean (2015) claims that “the legal regulations should also be an intern initiative of sharing economy”. Law as it is cannot possible adjust in time to help avoid all arising isssues that have to do with sharing economy in time.

Payment control

Sharing economy has also vastly affected money exchanges. Apart from the fact that it has increased online transactions, it has played an importand role in the creation of crypto- currencies like Bitcoin. Such currencies can be used to facilitate illegal transactions making the sharing business untraceable for governmental institutions.

Local taxation

Airbnb has 200 tax agreements, which allow the company to collect and remit hotel taxes to local governments, and is looking to boost the number by another 50010. Mr Chesky said these deals were important to mitigate regulatory risk. Even though there are some countries that are changing every year tax regulations and laws, therefore don’t offer a stable environment for businesses.

For example, there is no clear, stable and competitive tax framework in Greece, with no unpredictable "surprises" and dysfunctions. On the contrary, it is characterized by the ambiguity of its laws, the uncertain tax regime and unequal tax burdens combined with over-taxation.

10 https://www.ft.com/content/c87a1a0a-aecf-11e6-a37c-f4a01f1b0fa1

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2.3 Sharing economy accommodations

Sharing is now a global phenomenon due to both the growth of platforms in other countries and the global existence of the concept of exchange. Removing barriers from the exchange of information has facilitated the globalization of accommodation exchange platforms.

The exchange of residence or the sharing of the house is a disruptive innovation, even if short-term rentals are not a new phenomenon. In contrast to the conventional people-to- people linking model, sharing hotels link people to one another, thus altering the conventional short-term rigidity of site-based hosting. This has resulted in a beneficial effect on world tourism, and at the same time a significant change in the terms of competition on the global tourism market.

The following figure shows how sharing economy is created.

Figure 2.1: Home sharing companies

Borsman & Rogers, 2011

The sharing economy model and the wide use of high-speed internet have make short-term home renting a common practice. Households have thus caused concerns to hotel chains that now have to antagonize with an alternative hosting system that has experienced explosive growth and offering options without geographical constraints.

There are many type of platforms through which someone can share a house. Every existing platform has its own form and function. We could divide the platforms into non- profit, mutual exchange and rental.

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In the following table there are mentioned some platforms of each of the above division.

Table 2.3: Sharing platforms depending on user interaction User-user interaction Ρ2Ρ platform Non profit Be Welcome, Couchsurfing, Warm Showers Mutual exchange Home Exchange, My Twin Place, Home Link Rental Airbnb, Evergreen B&B, 9flats

In free models, there is no monetary exchange between platform users, as hospitality is stimulated by non-cash profits. Couchsurfing, -the largest free accommodation sharing platform-, states that “...hospitality at Couchsurfing should be liberated. A host should never ask a visitor to pay for his accommodation and a guest should not ask for money”.

Some reciprocal exchange platforms are Home Exchange, My Twin Place and Global Freeloaders. These platforms are based on the quid-pro-quo relationship between the visitor and the guest, while the guest is hosted and vice versa. Members of some platforms can even exchange their property with another member during a specified time period, while for the other platform user, hosting can be returned at a different time. This type of platforms typically require a fee, which allows members to access the database of properties available for rotation. Home Exchange and My Twin Place require a pay-as- you-go payment, while Global Freeloaders are free of charge. There is no currency exchange among users on any of the platforms.

Last but not least on rental platforms the rental model hosts quote their property on the internet and charge a fee to the visitors. Platforms provide a new way of short rental, with easy access to the network. Rental platforms are speculative and simultaneously generate profits for their users who record their real estate on the internet. These platforms include Airbnb, 9flats and VRBO.

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2.4 The case of Airbnb

As we have already analyzed, in the past ten years, many peer-to-peer companies have appeared in the market also serving the needs of tourists. One of the most discussed examples is Airbnb - the short for "Airbed and Breakfast" - an internet platform where people can book accomondation and travel experiences such as sort trips, lunches etc. As stated in its official platform, “the basic idea behind Airbnb is to help those who want to provide short-term rentals to get in touch with those who want to rent these spaces”. The company claimed on its website in January 2017 that it had more than 2.5 million listings in 191 countries around the world, which means that Airbnb hosts offer more accommodation than, for example, Hilton Worldwide.

2.4.1 History of Airbnb Airbnb was founded by Joe Gebbia, Brian Chesky and Nathan Blecharczyk in 2008. The idea came to Gebbia and Chesky in 2007 during an annual industrial design conference in San Francisco, where all the hotels in the city were fully held for months before. Gebbia and Chesky decided to earn some extra money by offering inflatable beds in their living room and a homemade breakfast to three participants in the conference. They established the company with Blecharczyk next year, focusing on high-profile events where hotel rooms were not able to absorb all travelers.

Although initially the popularity of the company was limited, in mid-2010 its growth course started sharply upwards (Airbnb, 2011) and continued on that road. In February 2011, Airbnb reached a total of one million overnight stays, until June 2011 Airbnb had closed the second millions of nights. In January 2012, a total of five million nights were closed and until June 2012 a total of 10 million nights had been closed. At this point Airbnb stopped reporting the total overnight stays in the room and began to report the total number of visitors who had used the service. In July 2014, Airbnb reported that over 17 million visitors had used the service. In January 2015, Airbnb reported that 30 million visitors had used the service, with nearly 20 million users only using it in 2014. Later in 2015 the company reported that 17 million visitors had used Airbnb only in the summer of that year. In early 2016 the company reported that over 60 million visitors had used the

Postgraduate Dissertation 17 “Anna Liana”, “The impact of sharing economy into the tourist landscape is nowadays considered as a threat to the existing hotel industry.The Airbnb case.” service and in the summer of 2016, Airbnb said that 100 million visitors had used the service.

Along with the number of visitors, Airbnb's registrations were rapidly multiplying: Airbnb had 50,000 listings at the end of 2010 (Caulfield, 2010), 200,000 entries in mid-2012 (Economist, 2012), 300,000 registrations in early 2013 (Geron, 2013), 500,000 entries by the end of 2013 (Lawler, 2013b), 800,000 registrations by autumn 2014 (Perez, 2014), more than one million registrations by end 2014 (Griswold, 2014) (Airbnb, 2016a) which covers almost all countries of the world.

In Greece Airbnb -based on data collected in October 2014 - has 11.800 listed properties, mainly entire units such as apartments and villas.11 It is really remarkable that in Greece from October 2013 through September 2014, the Airbnb community has contributed € 69 million in total economic activity to the Greek economy.

2.4.2 Airbnb description Airbnb, as specified in its official website - itself does not own, rent, manage or control the properties rented on its website. His duties are limited to importing places, payment processing, escrow operation, and insurance loss insurance for the hosts. The company receives a service fee of 9-12% for each booking.

Airbnb guests rent different types of venues for overnight periods to a few months. space may be a "shared or private room" where the host is usually present during the stay or a "whole" (apartment / house / castle / tree-house / yurt, etc.) where the host is not present during the stay. The hosts describe themselves, the place they rent, determine the price and are, according to the terms of Airbnb, responsible for complying with the laws, rules and rights Regulations. Guests and visitors can rate and rate each completed stay. However, recent studies have identified some inaccuracies in this rating system, especially the trend overvaluing positive experiences and undermining the negative ones. It can also be difficult to determine whether the host or the visitor has a criminal background. Even if Airbnb excludes troubled hosts and visitors, these people can move to other platforms.

11 http://www.grhotels.gr/GR/BussinessInfo/News/Lists/List/Attachments/538/Sharing%20Economy%20GRH OTELS%20ENG.pdf

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Although the majority of Airbnb guests offer one or two lists, some have dozens or hundreds of entries. In New York (one of Airbnb's most important markets), the highest host, according to a 2014 report, had 6,272 listings and received revenue of $ 6.8 million in the reporting period (January 2010 - June 2014). The report found that it hosts more than two entries accounted for 6% of all Airbnb hosts in New York during this period, but accounted for 37% of revenue with 36% of all Airbnb bookings.

Recently, Airbnb has added to its platform the ability of people to book various travel experiences such as dancing, cooking, gardening and sports classes.

Airbnb virtually circumvents the trust of brands and the trust that hotel brands have created for decades. He has persuaded millions of people to stay in the homes of foreigners and on the other hand people rent their homes to strangers. The Airbnb platform is accessible from office, laptop, tablet, smart phones and any time a host or traveler can connect.

Airbnb reviews by hosts and tourists assess both qualitative and quantitative data. They comment on the Airbnb rental site based on accuracy, cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, value and open narrative

Airbnb includes people who want to rent their space, which are recognized as "hosts" and people who want to rent space tourists who are described as "travelers". The hosts have their own space or rent their space. Airbnb is able to target both hosts and travelers alike.

Airbnb enjoys flexible market integration as an ecommerce site. A traction strategy strengthens communications by verifying the detention process from texts and e-mail sources to eliminate the need for person-to-person communication to complete a reservation, thus saving costs. Visitors to the Airbnb website find a wealth of online experience centered on building customer confidence from both tourist and reception departments.

2.4.3 Airbnb experience The increased use of the Airbnb platform could have various incentives that we will then explore through our research. The motives I have identified through the existing literature and I will cross the research are as follows:

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Price

As mentioned by Christensen (1997), “low cost is a classic feature and attractiveness of upsetting innovations”. Adner's (2002) analysis of consumer demand for disruptive innovations highlighted the crucial “importance of price”. Similarly, research on diffusion of innovation recognizes that economic costs are a very common aspect of the relative advantage.

Airbnb accommodations tend to be cheaper than hotels, although they may be more expensive than hostels. Thus, some erstwhile research somewhat contradicts the common understanding that Airbnb generally offers significant cost savings. When examining individual US cities, the researchers found that hotels were generally more expensive than Airbnb accommodation in major urban destinations such as New York (which are, of course, the markets in which Airbnb focuses). On the contrary, hotels were less expensive than Airbnb in relatively low-cost recreational destinations such as Austin.

Functional features

Some of the main functional features that define an Airbnb accommodation will be aligned with those typical of traditional accommodation. For instance, Tussyadiah and Zach (2015) found that “the site was important for both hotels and Airbnb accommodation”. Also, the existing Airbnb literature has highlighted the benefits of access to home comforts (etc., a washing machine) and relatively large space (Guttentag, 2015 • Quinby&Gasdia, 2014). Airbnb and media stories about the company have also gained access to a local host who can share local advice and advice. In addition, it has been pointed out that “staying in a private residence instead of a general traditional stay can provide a more intimate atmosphere” (McIntosh and Siggs, 2005). “This latter feature has both functional and emotional features” (Aaker, 1995), but because it is related to the "feel" of the product and the sense it produces to the user, it seems logical to regard it as a functional feature.

Unique and local authenticity

Recourse to a more "familiar" enviroment underlines the importance of searching beyond strictly tangible qualities to further look at the experiential aspects of an Airbnb stay. With Airbnb, the possibility of a local experience closer to reality seems to be a central element

Postgraduate Dissertation 20 “Anna Liana”, “The impact of sharing economy into the tourist landscape is nowadays considered as a threat to the existing hotel industry.The Airbnb case.” of its unique value proposition and, to understand this appeal, one can begin by looking at growing dissatisfaction with certain aspects of modern consumer society.

New Consumers refer to the growing rejection of standardization and to the embrace of unique and authentic experiences. The growing desire for a unique and authentic local experience is very favorable for a service like Airbnb, which appears to be a provider of such experiences. For example, Airbnb's home page says: “Welcome home - rent unique places to stay from local hosts in 190+ countries” the company's initial slogan was “Travel like a Man” (Menkedick, 2009).

2.4.4 Airbnb SWOT analysis SWOT analysis is a very efficient tool. Using this method, you can identify and exploit the strengths of the business and take advantage of future opportunities that will be presented. On the other hand, they can take away the weaknesses and the threats that will be presented in appropriate steps.

This method analyzes Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats in an enterprise. The analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of the company mainly concerns the internal environment of the enterprise, while the analysis of threats and opportunities concerns the study of the external environment (Political, Legal, Social, Economic, Financial, etc.).

Strengths:

• Airbnb addresses a wide variety of travelers • A wealth of accommodation in all styles • Airbnb creates a strong brand • Extremely personalized • Hospitality and tourist reviews create confidence • Cost per transaction low due to the internet platform model • Expansion does not require capital investment or use of new resources

Weaknesses:

• Airbnb has no operational control • Airbnb does not have facilities common to corporate travelers • A consistent experience is not easy to repeat

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• Cleaning standards vary • There are no facilities and services available to the team and the team • 72% -90% of the accommodation is said to be illegal • Most Airbnb listings are vulnerable to tax obligations

Opportunities:

• Expansion critical to increase market share and maintain leadership • Risk capital seems unlimited • Achieve new revenue streams for vertical platform integration options such as Uber, car hire and airline

Threats:

• Other platforms are very competitive • Government regulations and lawsuits in many markets. • Without operational control, a serious crime or any other bad publicity could be a major failure factor in the fragmented economy • The security of Airbnb's corporate property and liability is sensitive to a principal claim of liability.

2.5 The effects of Airbnb on the conventional accommodation industry

Given the fast growing popularity of Airbnb, it is increasingly seen as a possible threat to conventional accommodation. Nevertheless, the range of this threat is a matter of much discussion, as so far there has not been in-depth research that could have assessed the impact of Airbnb on conventional accommodation. Many hotel leaders and analysts have expressed skepticism about the possible effects of Airbnb, arguing that the company is negligibly small, serves a separate rental and homosexuality market, is mainly targeted at adventurous travelers of a new economy and fails to attract more lucrative businesses.

Ιn accordance with Deutsche Bank analyst “Ultimately, Airbnb looks to be increasing the pie,' rather than necessarily reducing the share for others”, and has no doubt that “Airbnb is an alternative in a period that the demand of the hotels expand due to events in the city - leading to significant increase in the prices of the hotels- for example medical

Postgraduate Dissertation 22 “Anna Liana”, “The impact of sharing economy into the tourist landscape is nowadays considered as a threat to the existing hotel industry.The Airbnb case.” conferences”. Even though, the travel market has grown over the years because of low cost airlines (as it has made it affordable for more people to travel), who differently would not have been able to do so, or would have travelled rarely, revenue per available room in hotels has not seen a notable change over the years -while at the same time supply of rooms on Airbnb has increased- (Bryan, 2016). In similar manner, Christopher Nassetta, CEO of Hilton Worldwide discriminate the “business” between the both, as he believes that “hotels are in business of serving people while Airbnb is more in business of lodging”. (Trejos, 2016)12

Indeed, Airbnb argues that it complements and does not compete with hotels, attracting different types of tourists, thus making it "bigger" rather than "getting a piece of pie".

On the other hand, others suggested that Airbnb would significantly affect traditional accommodation, noting that Airbnb is growing rapidly, improving its services to attract a broader base and drawing from a market where hotels also serve. Ιn accordance with a study conducted by CBRE Hotels' Americas Research, out of the 141 billion that hotels generate in US, travelers spent 2.4 billion on Airbnb lodging from October 2014 to September 2015. Even though it is a small percentage of what hotels generate, it is notable that it is a huge increase from the same time period the previous year. Out of the 2.4 billion spent by travelers, more than 55 percent of it was spent in five U.S. cities, with New York being on top of the list.(Trejos, 2016)

According to a report by HVS on the effects of Airbnb in New York City, it was estimated that 450 million in direct revenues are lost by hotels to Airbnb per year (HVS, 2015, p. 21). The rooms nights booked between September 2014 and August 2015 showed in hotel’s 480,000 rooms were reserved while in Airbnb was over 2.8 million rooms booked (HVS, 2015, p. 5).

Decreasing demand for conventional hotels in New York has caused many hotel employees to lose their jobs. In total, over 2,800 jobs are directly lost to Airbnb. The additional negative effects of low demand of hotel rooms are seen in the additional revenue losses as well.

12 Trejos, N. (2016, Februray 2). USA Today. Retrieved October 11, 2017, from https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/hotels/2016/02/02/airbnb-hotel-industry-threat-index/79651502/

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Overall over USD 108 million revenue from food and beverage revenues of hotels are lost because of travelers choosing to book with Airbnb. (HVS, 2015, p. 23)13

2.6 Previous investigations / Research gap and questions

Since 2005, the breakdown of the economy or co-operative consumption has become a topic that is often discussed by practitioners and researchers. Different articles and journals have reported that the phenomenon of the common economy is widely debating its strengths and weaknesses as well as proposals for traditional corporate organizations to prepare for the growing threats posed by the common economy. The book "What is mine: The rise of cooperative consumption" (Botsman& Rogers, 2012) is one of the first publications that carefully describe and attempt to capture the nature of the economy. The sharing economy has been reviewed and analyzed from a variety of perspectives, such as: the environment that feeds the common economy, the sharing mechanism and the consequences of sharing the economy in business and everyday life. In Finland, the exchange of the economy is discussed in Lahti and Selosmaa (Lahti &Selosmaa, 2013) in the book "A fair share: towards a new cooperative economy".

Plenty studies have been conducted on the distribution of the economy. The model of the sharing economy has grown from car sharing to crowdfunding, accommodation sharing and many other areas. Recently, the focus of researchers has shifted from studying different sharing platforms to studying the entire common economy as a general phenomenon, regardless of product / service types or sharing items. From a technical point of view, research has focused on the sharing platform, how it works and how people and technology interact in the peer to peer network (Avital et al., 2014, Bucher, Fieseler, & Lutz, 2016). From a social point of view, the authors have studied the human motives for sharing (Hamari&Ukkonen, 2013), and its impact on labor law and society (Kneese&Rosenblat, 2014, Teubner, 2014). Tussyadiah (2015) conducted a study on the distribution of the economy from the customer satisfaction perspective to detect the factors affecting consumer choices. Although significant researchers have long been devoted to

13 HVS. (2015, October 13). Retrieved October 12, 2017, from http://www.hanyc.org/wp- content/uploads/2015/10/HVS-Impact-Study-FINAL-Airbnb-and-the-NYC-Lodging-Market-10-27-15- copy.pdf

Postgraduate Dissertation 24 “Anna Liana”, “The impact of sharing economy into the tourist landscape is nowadays considered as a threat to the existing hotel industry.The Airbnb case.” discovering the common economy as a phenomenon, less attention has been paid to understanding the phenomenon from the point of view of the user.

Understanding a research phenomenon on the part of the client is important in several aspects. In the context of the distribution of the economy, the client's perspective could provide a comprehensive and practical analysis of a new phenomenon. Customers are the main target and similarly the primary contributors to the sharing economy (Botsman& Rogers, 2012). The study of a phenomenon from the customer side could help to identify key elements for a successful marketing process. The existence and development of a business depends on acquiring and maintaining customers. Therefore, the perspective of customers is crucial to the implementation of their strategic directions (Woodruff, 1997). Understanding the importance and motivation of users' choices in the sharing economy could help companies navigate their business strategies and create unique competitive advantages.

Particularly in the case of Airbnb, research is of course very limited, although it attracts more and more attention to research in the field of tourism and other sectors. In fact, much of the research available today was published during this study. Also, much of the available academic research continues to consist of studies published as working papers, minutes of proceedings and other similar papers, rather than peer-reviewed scientific papers. In addition, an important part of Airbnb research has been issued by various industrial units, not by academics.

Research methology

The previous chapters analyses the theoretical part of the subject. In this chapter we will approach the empirical approach of the subject and the research methodology. Specifically, this chapter will analyze research planning, data collection sources as well as communication tools, research methodology and the statistical approach followed.

The first stage of this research is the determination of the issue under investigation, which is the impact of the sharing economy's on the tourist industry, specifically the Airbnb case. In addition, it is very important to define the objectives of the survey.

The objectives set and the questions to be answered determine the type of information to be collected and the sources from which it will be obtained. A very important point is to

Postgraduate Dissertation 25 “Anna Liana”, “The impact of sharing economy into the tourist landscape is nowadays considered as a threat to the existing hotel industry.The Airbnb case.” ensure that it concerns a prototype research and is not the subject of research by others, as well as how to omit information that may be critical to the subject it is investigating.

2.7 Research questions

The purpose of this study is to investigate why tourists choose to stay in Airbnb accommodation instead of traditional accommodation options (such as hotels). This study focused on answering three key research questions:

1. What are the incentives for tourists to choose Airbnb in relation to traditional accommodation? 2. What are the characteristics, of these Airbnb users with regard to the relevant variables, including demographics and travel and accommodation characteristics? 3. What is missing from hotels, and what is missing from the Airbnb accommodation compared to hotels?

The first three research questions are directly linked, as they focus on investigating the incentives of visitors to select Airbnb and examine Airbnb users' motives. However, the focus on motivation simply underlines the (generally positive) reasons why visitors choose Airbnb, while ignoring the possible Airbnb weaknesses that visitors are obviously willing to tolerate. Visitors' perceptions of these weaknesses are important to understanding Airbnb's choice in the wider context of tourism. As a result, the fourth research question highlights Airbnb's potential shortcomings, thus completing the other three questions to provide a more holistic overall analysis of why tourists choose Airbnb.

2.8 Methodology

2.8.1 Types of research Researches are divided into two categories according to the way of analyzing the data: quantitative and qualitative (Herbst, F. & Coldwell, D. (2004)).

Postgraduate Dissertation 26 “Anna Liana”, “The impact of sharing economy into the tourist landscape is nowadays considered as a threat to the existing hotel industry.The Airbnb case.”

Quantitative research is mainly based on the statistical analysis of data from a specific section of the population. In order to draw conclusions, predefined scales and mathematical methods are used. Another feature of quantitative research is that closed- ended questions are being used and that the same questions are being asked for all individuals in the sample14.

In contrast, qualitative research, data analysis techniques are designed to study respondents' thoughts and wishes, and are based more on psychological criteria15.

In the context of this research approach, quantitative research will be applied, as the final conclusions will be obtained after a statistical analysis of the data and will include techniques aimed at numerical estimations.

2.8.2 Design and structure of the questionnaire The technique, which was used to collect the data required during the research, is the completion of the questionnaires.

The questionnaire is the most common sampling tool and respondents are asked to answer a series of questions which, after a statistical analysis, lead to conclusions on the subject being asked (Webster, 1985).

The main categories of questionnaires are16:

o structured questionnaires o unstructured questionnaires

In the first case the answers are more quantitative and are predetermined, while in unstructured questionnaires the scope of the answers is unlimited and concerns qualitative data.

The types of questions that make up a questionnaire are divided into two categories:

o Open-ended questions that give people in the sample the ability to respond in their own way using their own expressions and o Closed-ended questions in which the responses are predefined and their range very limited.

14 Herbst, F. & Coldwell, D. (2004) Business Research, Juta and Co Ltd, p.15 15 Herbst, F. & Coldwell, D. (2004) Business Research, Juta and Co Ltd, p.13 16 Cohen, L., Manion, L. and Morrison, K. (2000) Research Methods in Education 5th Edition. London: RoutledgeFalmer. See Chapter 14 pp 245 - 266

Postgraduate Dissertation 27 “Anna Liana”, “The impact of sharing economy into the tourist landscape is nowadays considered as a threat to the existing hotel industry.The Airbnb case.”

Closed questions are mostly used in quantitative research as it is easier to analyze the results. The respondent is asked to choose the answer that best expresses it.

The type of questionnaire used in this research is structured with closed-ended questions. The questionnaire consists of 22 questions. Some of the questions are simple alternative questions with two answer options. In most of the questions, the answers were shared with the Likert scale, how much the respondent agrees with the question asked.

2.8.3 Sample selection The sample of a research is a representative portion of the population from which the information will be extracted (Webster, 1985), since it is not possible to predict the entire population because of its size. It is necessary for the sample to be as representative as possible, in order for the data to be accurate. The conclusions are derived by processing and analyzing the information collected from the sample17.

The sample in our research are travelers, potential customers and customers of Airbnb. participants are selected on the basis of the following criteria:

First, the participants are travelers who travel at least once a year either for leisure or business.

Secondly, it should be also clarified that participants spent at least a night at their destination during their travels.

Thirdly participants may be Airbnb customers. These customers are divided into two categories: a)customers who use the Airbnb platform to book accommodation during their travels, and b) customers who use the Airbnb platform to offer their property/premises for rent. However, users of the platform could belong to both of the above mentioned categories. Taking into account the topic of the present research, the target respondents are Airbnb users who use Airbnb to book accommodation for their travel.

Finally, the respondents may be travelers who, although they may be visiting on Airbnb platforms, they have never stayed in Airbnb accommodation.

There are no other restrictions, such as ethnicities or professions.

17 Webster, M. (1985) - Webster’s ninth new collegiate dictionary - . Meriam: Webster Inc.

Postgraduate Dissertation 28 “Anna Liana”, “The impact of sharing economy into the tourist landscape is nowadays considered as a threat to the existing hotel industry.The Airbnb case.”

2.8.4 Collection of data Several date collection methods have been used. Social media platforms were chosen for reasons of convenient, since through such platform one can gain access to a vast amount of users, hence more possible participants.

The questionnaire was distributed through social media -Facebook travel related groups - the groups’ administrator posted an invitation to participate in the questionnaire on their pages-

An invitation to participate in the questionnaire was also posted on the Airbnb blog website, but the response rate was low, so this sampling method was considered inadequate. There was also a communication with an Airbnb representative about the company's disposal to collaborate in the study by providing access to visitors, but Airbnb refused to participate. Finally there was an invitation to Airbnb Facebook group to participate in the questionnaire, in which the response rate was good.

2.8.5 Special features of research The main concern concerns the response of the survey, within a predetermined and limited timeframe. The questionnaire is accompanied by a letter describing the purpose of the survey and guaranteeing the anonymity of the sample respondents. Reference has also been made to Open University as the body of this research to increase both possible responses and critical credibility, which may attract more people from the sample.

The largest percentage of questionnaires was distributed and concentrated on an electronic questionnaire.

The process of distributing and collecting the questionnaires takes 2 weeks.

In total, 161 questionnaires were completed. However, nine of them were removed because the participants had not answered all of the questions.

Postgraduate Dissertation 29 “Anna Liana”, “The impact of sharing economy into the tourist landscape is nowadays considered as a threat to the existing hotel industry.The Airbnb case.”

2.9 Questionnaire

The design of the questionnaire was designed to prompt the sample to respond with seriousness and sincerity so that the results and conclusions were reliable.

Our questions investigate all the goals we have set.

Based on the above, the questionnaire was divided into three sections:

The first part consists of six general questions about the travel habits of the respondents and what they take into account when choosing the accommodation.

In the second part were used ten questions. The first four questions examine participants relation with sharing economy platforms and the other six deal with the motivation of travelers to use Airbnb instead of a traditional accommodation.

The third part consists of four questions and examines customer satisfaction with the use of Airbnb. Thus, this part of the questionnaire contributed to the third objectives of this survey.

The last part consists of demographics that contribute to better categorization of questions.

The questionnaire is placed in the first annex.

Postgraduate Dissertation 30 “Anna Liana”, “The impact of sharing economy into the tourist landscape is nowadays considered as a threat to the existing hotel industry.The Airbnb case.”

3 Results – Data analysis

As we have already analyzed the research tool was a questionnaire consisting mainly of multiple choice and Likert scale questions. The analysis focused on a post-hoc cluster analysis of Airbnb visitors, based on their motivation to use the service.

The data were collected through Google forms, and the descriptive analysis was done using Microsoft Excel 2007. After that, we investigated possible relationships between specific variables.

A total of 152 questionnaires were processed to get results for this research.

3.1 Demographic data

Demographic data is necessary to obtain basic information about respondents (McDaniel and Gates, 2001). Below we can see the sample profile, such as age, gender and average family income.

Figure 3.1: Gender

Our sample consists of 59.2% females and 40,8% males.

Postgraduate Dissertation 31 “Anna Liana”, “The impact of sharing economy into the tourist landscape is nowadays considered as a threat to the existing hotel industry.The Airbnb case.”

Figure 3.2: Age

This figure shows the age range of the respondents. The largest proportion is between the ages of 39 and 48 (42.1%). Close to that is the ages 29-38 with 38.2%. There are also some smaller percentages of 11.8% for ages 18-28, 6.6% for ages 49-58, and 1.3% for ages 59+ years.

Figure 3.3: Annual income

This chart shows the level of incomes of people who participated in the questionnaire completion. It can be noticed that the highest rates relate to people who have the same income as the average income of their country (56,6%). Then there is a 35,5% that have a

Postgraduate Dissertation 32 “Anna Liana”, “The impact of sharing economy into the tourist landscape is nowadays considered as a threat to the existing hotel industry.The Airbnb case.” higher income than the average income of their country. Also, a 7.9% said that their income is lower than the average income of their country.

From the graphs above, we notice that the characteristics of the sample profile vary in income and age. Age group 29-48 is the dominant age of the respondents, which is the age group that we want to focus on. In addition, it is important to note that the highest rates of respondents have the same as the average income of their country.

3.2 Travel habits of respondents

In this section, some of the travel habits of the respondents will be presented, such as the frequency, the way and the reasons for organizing their holidays.

Figure 3.4: Preferred travel companion

In the above chart, it seems that 46.1% prefer traveling with their family, 38.2% with their friends, 14.5% alone and 1.3% with his/her partner.

Postgraduate Dissertation 33 “Anna Liana”, “The impact of sharing economy into the tourist landscape is nowadays considered as a threat to the existing hotel industry.The Airbnb case.”

Figure 3.5: Frequency of travel per year

This figure illustrates the fact that 77,6% of the respondents travel 1-5 times a year, 17.1% 6-10 times, 3,9% 11-20 times and 1.3% more than 20 times. It is obvious that most respondents do not travel many times a year, while a small percentage organizes trips more than 5 times a year.

Figure 3.6: Duration of stay

In the above chart, it seems that 63.2% stay 4-7 days in each trip, 30.3% 1-3 days, 5.3% 1- 2 weeks and 1.3% more than 2 weeks.

Postgraduate Dissertation 34 “Anna Liana”, “The impact of sharing economy into the tourist landscape is nowadays considered as a threat to the existing hotel industry.The Airbnb case.”

Figure 3.7: Reasons for organizing trips

Take a reading this chart, 84.2% of the respondents travel for leisure, 13.2% for professional reasons, 1.3% for educational reasons, 1.3% for various reasons and none for religious reasons.

Figure 3.8: Factors through selecting accommodation

Observing the above chart we can see that budget and location are factors that most of the respondents either agree or strongly agree that is very important while choosing accommodation. In the factors photos of the room and amenities most respondents say that agree. Last in factor hotel category most respondents agree but there is the only factor that there are responder who strongly disagree.

Postgraduate Dissertation 35 “Anna Liana”, “The impact of sharing economy into the tourist landscape is nowadays considered as a threat to the existing hotel industry.The Airbnb case.”

Figure 3.9: Sources of information about hotel choice

This figure shows that 84.2% are taking information from the internet so as to choose accommodation, 9.2% from friend recommendations, 4.7% from company advertisement and 1.9% from travel agents.

From the graphs above, it can be concluded that using the internet is a basic tool in organizing trips and choosing accommodation.

In addition, most respondents said their holiday was about entertainment and entertainment, that their duration was 4-7 days and that they travel 1-5 times a year.

Postgraduate Dissertation 36 “Anna Liana”, “The impact of sharing economy into the tourist landscape is nowadays considered as a threat to the existing hotel industry.The Airbnb case.”

3.3 Participant relation with sharing economy platforms

Figure 3.10: Meaning

This figure shows that from the above meaning the most known is sharing economy, while 16,2% of the respondents do not know any of the above concepts.

Figure 3.11: Identification of the Airbnb electronic platform

In the figure above, 98.7% know about Airbnb's online platform, 15.8% know about Home Away, 14.5% know about house trip and 2.6% do not know it at all. A fact that shows that there are several people who do not know the existence of the platform and the process of home exchange.

Postgraduate Dissertation 37 “Anna Liana”, “The impact of sharing economy into the tourist landscape is nowadays considered as a threat to the existing hotel industry.The Airbnb case.”

Figure 3.12: Using the Airbnb Electronic Platform

Here it appears that 63.2% of respondents are platform users, while 36.8% have not used Airbnb.

Figure 3.13: Using the Airbnb accommodation

Here it appears that 89.7% of respondents has stayed in an entire place, while 10,3% have used a private bedroom.

Postgraduate Dissertation 38 “Anna Liana”, “The impact of sharing economy into the tourist landscape is nowadays considered as a threat to the existing hotel industry.The Airbnb case.”

3.4 Incentives for tourists to choose Airbnb in relation to traditional accommodation

Figure 3.14: Reasons for first use of the Airbnb online platform

This chart shows why respondents chose an accommodation via Airbnb. 54.7% influenced by word of mouth, 39.1% by reviews in Airbnb site from previous guests, 23.4% by online word of mouth, 17.2% by advertising and 17.2% from Airbnb advertising.

Figure 3.15: Features noticed before confirmation

Postgraduate Dissertation 39 “Anna Liana”, “The impact of sharing economy into the tourist landscape is nowadays considered as a threat to the existing hotel industry.The Airbnb case.”

This figure shows that there are three things that most people do before confirming a reservation. First of all many of them read the accommodation description, also many of them read the available reviews and see the available pictures. Moreover 47% check the accommodation through google map and 33,3% reed the accommodation rules and personal info about the hosts.

Figure 3.16: Compare Airbnb offers to hotel offers

Asked if they compare Airbnb offers to hotel before making their choice, 74.3% replied "yes" and 25.7% answered "no".

Postgraduate Dissertation 40 “Anna Liana”, “The impact of sharing economy into the tourist landscape is nowadays considered as a threat to the existing hotel industry.The Airbnb case.”

Figure 3.17: Reason for choosing Airbnb

Observing the above figure we point out that most of the respondents choose Airbnb because of its price. Also many agree that they choose Airbnb because of the location. It is very interesting that many of them (only few of the respondents disagree) agree that they choose Airbnb because of the access to household amenities. Last but not least, it is remarkable that many people agree that they choose Airbnb because of the large amount of space. The rest of the reasons that examine interaction with locals and the feeling of home did not override any of the answers (1-6 scale) as it was shared in the six options.

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Figure 3.18: Airbnb satisfaction

This figure points out that 27.3% said their experience was "very satisfied", 45.5% that was "satisfied ", 20% that was "ok ", 5.5% that was "dissatisfied "and 1.8% said that was just “very dissatisfied”.

Figure 3.19: Probability of using Airbnb in the future

Asked if respondents would use Airbnb in the future, 58.7% replied "yes" and 43.3% answered "no".

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3.5 Airbnb/hotel deficiencies

Figure 3.20: Benefits of hotels

Take a reading this chart, many respondents agree and strongly agree that hotels ensure greater security. Fewer but still many agree that hotels provide more facilities. In the other three statements (that hotels ensure a sense of luxury, that provide more comfort and that booking is simpler) more people agree but there is also a small percentage of individuals that somewhat disagree.

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Figure 3.21: Expectations

Take a reading to the above chart, we notice that most respondents expect hotel to be more clear, easy of checking in/out, ease of resolving unexpected problems, provide more services and are more secure.

On the other hand, expect Airbnb to be close to experiencing local culture, to have good value for money, to be in a good location, to be quiet, to provide the feeling of being home and to get socially engaged and being friend with new people.

Finally, expectations regarding both Airbnb and hotel are equally distributed about comfort, easy to book, consequence between comments of previous users and reality, number of options / features (etc., a number of different rooms with different features) and possible feedback and evaluation.

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4 Conclusion

This study provides important information that can be used at a practical level about the strengths and weaknesses of both Airbnb and hotels. A deeper look into why tourists choose Airbnb will be a valuable tool for both marketing and product developers.

Moreover, this study also helps to understand the evolving trends in tourism. Consequently, this research contributes to the introduction of new approaches in the study of travel accommodation choices.

4.1 Conclusions

Initially, it should be noted that tourism is a phenomenon that has a large dimension nowadays and its’ development in recent years is rapid. This is an economic phenomenon that directly affects the countries in which it operates. Its combination with technology has brought dramatic changes to every individual as well as to the business sector. The application of new technologies in the tourism industry, such as e-banking, hotel booking, etc., is now considered to be an integral part of its development.

At the same time, sharing economy has emerged as a viable alternative to meeting a variety of consumer needs, from cars to overnight stays. As the size of sharing economy increases, the magnitude of the economic impact is increasing as well.

Airbnb has already shaken the tourist accommodation industry, with little evidence that its growth will slow down significantly in the short term. The speed with which it has affected the tourism sector is so rare and remarkable.

Nevertheless, there is still little understanding of why so many tourists choose this innovative service and what will be the consequences of its appearance for the traditional accommodation industry. This thesis provides empirical evidence that sharing economy is changing consumer standards significantly, focusing on the case of Airbnb, a pioneer in common accommodation.

First of all, this research shows that stronger incentives for tourists choosing Airbnb, tend to include cost and other practical considerations, while experiential motivations are

Postgraduate Dissertation 45 “Anna Liana”, “The impact of sharing economy into the tourist landscape is nowadays considered as a threat to the existing hotel industry.The Airbnb case.” secondary. 71% of people use the platform because they can find decent accommodation at affordable prices. With the rise of technology, travelers are looking for affordable accommodation that can meet their needs and save money to spent them in other local activities and product markets.

Secondly, according to the present research 67.1% of people use the platform because they can find remarkable accommodation in a very good location. In the same location a hotel may not be able to exist because of a restriction in local land-use requirements. This has resulted in Airbnb being able to take advantage of existing demand, and expand the supply of accommodation. Moreover, in contrast to hotels, Airbnb offers a wider range of products and services than hotels; Airbnb users can rent anything from an apartment to a yacht, and in any location.

In addition, according to the above survey, travelers prefer accommodation via Airbnb as they are more spacious and offer the comforts of a home. This also happens unlike hotels - especially within cities - as they cannot offer such large rooms. The benefits of a home can be included in the benefits of a hotel and this is remarkable for further exploration and can be used by the hotel marketing teams.

Finally, remarkable is the great influence on the hotel choice of user reviews. The Airbnb online platform is configured in such a way that it places special emphasis on user feedback and encourages users to comment on - rating accommodation.

It should be mentioned that Airbnb platform has almost zero marginal cost, as a new room can be gradually added (or removed) from the platform with negligible overall costs. Because of this, Airbnb may increase or reduce supply to meet demand even in a short period of time. On the contrary, the increase in the supply of rooms in a hotel unit implies significant costs for the hotel chains.

To summarize, it can be concluded that the sharing economy, home exchange in particular, is a new business idea that aims to change the current data and to create new prospects and experiences in holidaying tourists.

Finally, the various findings of this study can be used to predict future changes in the tourist accommodation industry. Although this is a questionable future, we hope that this study can provide all relevant stakeholders with a better understanding of the incentives of consumers that serve as the basis for these changes.

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4.2 Limitations

This work has some limitations that could be addressed in the future.

First, the aggregate sample inevitably did not fully reflect the Airbnb visitor population. Quantitative numbers of travelers using the platform are too large and it is practically impossible to gather information from users of a satisfactory level.

Secondly, the survey was generally conducted without focusing on a specific area. It is very likely, due to the varied supply dynamics and the demand to stay in different regional markets, that Airbnb users from different geographic areas have different incentives to use the service. Additional studies suggesting the effect of Airbnb on specific areas could be a useful contribution.

Also, a limiting task is that we analyze the attributes mentioned only in Airbnb, but not the available properties through related holiday rental platforms such as HomeAway and VRBO. While we do not believe our results are significantly affected by these, competitors could investigate the impact of all these companies as a whole or individually.

Finally, probability of bias is likely. It is possible, for example, that Airbnb users be particularly powerful supporters of Airbnb. Therefore, the study was not limited to Airbnb users, who would probably attract more study and would therefore be more likely to participate.

4.3 Recommendations for further research

This study highlights numerous avenues for potential future research. As it was mentioned above, there were several limitations in the present study that affect the generalization of the conclusions. Another study with a more representative sample could be used as a decision making tool for both hotel owners and Airbnb management. In addition the study could be expanded to include other rental platforms such HomeAway and VRBO.

Postgraduate Dissertation 47 “Anna Liana”, “The impact of sharing economy into the tourist landscape is nowadays considered as a threat to the existing hotel industry.The Airbnb case.”

Also the present study can be further developed through clear comparisons with users of other accommodation types. It would be useful to investigate Airbnb users’ motivation compared to that of users of other solutions.

Moreover, a very interesting subject that emerges after the finish of this research is what a hotel marketing department could do to increase its sales, taking into account the arrival of a sharing economy platforms such as Airbnb.

On the other hand, someone can investigate what an Airbnb hosts can do to minimize negative prejudices and attract more travelers against other hosts.

Finally, the present study could be the basis for many further researches. that would contribute knowledge and data valuable for both Airbnb and hotels, and could lead to the harmonious co-existence of both in the new tourism landscape

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 Pilon, M. (2014, October 21). Airbnb, an alternative to hotels for New York Marathon runners, isn’t welcome by all. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/22/sports/airbnb-an-alternative-to-hotels-for-new- york- marathon-runners-isnt-welcome-by-all.html.  Rosenberg, A. (2014, May 13). The best reason to Airbnb while traveling abroad. Washington Post. Retrieved from http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/act- four/wp/2014/05/13/the- best-reason-to-airbnb-while-traveling-abroad/.  Singh, V. (2013, April 22). Airbnb: More than a threat, it’s a great disruptor to the hotel & travel sector. Hospitality Net. Retrieved from http://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/global/154000320/4060361.html.  Slee, T. (2014, March 26). The shape of Airbnb’s business. Whimsley. Retrieved from http://tomslee.net/2014/05/the-shape-of-airbnbs-business.html.  Sohrabi, B., Vanani, I. R., Tahmasebipur, K., & Fazli, S. (2012). An exploratory analysis of hotel selection factors: A comprehensive survey of Tehran hotels. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 31(1), 96-106.  Temperton, J. (2014, December 9). Airbnb: Global recession was catalyst for sharing economy. Wired. Retrieved from http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2014-12/09/airbnb-sharing- economy-le-web.  Ting, D. (2016b, April 27). Airbnb tests hotel-style packaging and amenities in Sonoma, CA. Skift. Retrieved from https://skift.com/2016/04/27/airbnb-tests-hotel- style-packaging- and-amenities-in-sonoma-ca/.  WEF. (2011.), The Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report 2011. Geneva: World Economic Forum.  WEF. (2013.), The Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report 2013. Geneva: World Economic Forum.  Zervas, G., Proserpio, D., & Byers, J. (2015b). The rise of the sharing economy: Estimating the impact of Airbnb on the hotel industry. Boston University School of Management Research Paper Series, No. 2013-16.

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Appendix A: “Questionnaire”

The impact of sharing economy into the tourist landscape is nowadays considered as a threat to the existing hotel industry. The Airbnb case. The following questionnaire has been written in the framework of my diploma thesis in the postgraduate program "Business Administration" (MBA) of the Hellenic Open University. The questionnaire is anonymous, all data is completely confidential and will only be used for the purposes of this research. Thank you very much for your participation.

TRAVEL HABITS Do you travel Alone With your friends With your family Other………………………………………………

How many times do you travel annually? 1-5 times 5-10 times 10-20 times more than 20 times

What is the average duration of your stay? 1-3 days 4-7 days 1-2 weeks more than 2 weeks

What is the main purpose of your trips? Professional reasons Leisure Educational reasons Religious reasons Other……………………………………………..

Postgraduate Dissertation 53 “Anna Liana”, “The impact of sharing economy into the tourist landscape is nowadays considered as a threat to the existing hotel industry.The Airbnb case.”

What factors are taken into account in your accommodation type choice? Strongly Disagree Somewhat Somewhat Agree Strongly disagree disagree agree agree Hotel Category Budget Location Photos of the room Amenities

The hotel choice is made by taking information from The Internet Travel agents Friend recommendations Company travel policy Other

1st research question – incentives for tourists to choose Airbnb Please note which of the following meanings you know. You can choose more than one answer. Note  the appropriate answer. Sharing Economy Collaborative Consumption Peer to Peer Economy I do not know any of the above concepts

Which of the following platforms do you know? You can choose more than one answer. Note  the appropriate answer. Airbnb VRBO HomeAway Flipkey Roorama Housetrip Holidaylettings None

Postgraduate Dissertation 54 “Anna Liana”, “The impact of sharing economy into the tourist landscape is nowadays considered as a threat to the existing hotel industry.The Airbnb case.”

Have you stayed in an Airbnb accommodation? Yes No

Which of the following had a significant influence on your decision to use Airbnb for the first time? Airbnb advertising Guidebook Mass media (online news story, magazine article, etc.) Online word-of-mouth (Facebook, forums, blogs, etc.) Word-of-mouth (friends, family, other travellers, etc.) Reviews of Airbnb listings from previous guests Other……………………………………………..

What type of Airbnb accommodation did you use? Entire place (home, apartment, etc.) Private bedroom Shared space (etc., futon in a living room)

What are the most important features you check before confirming your choice? Personal info about the host Google maps Street view to see the accommodation The accommodation description Accommodation rules Verified pictures Reviews available Other……………………………………………..

Overall, how satisfied were you with your Airbnb stay Dissatisfied Somewhat Somewhat Satisfied Very dissatisfied satisfied satisfied ⃝ ⃝ ⃝ ⃝ ⃝

Postgraduate Dissertation 55 “Anna Liana”, “The impact of sharing economy into the tourist landscape is nowadays considered as a threat to the existing hotel industry.The Airbnb case.”

Please fill in the following regarding your decision to stay with Airbnb instead of a different form of stay Strongly Disagree Somewhat Somewhat Agree Strongly disagree disagree agree agree I chose Airbnb because of its price I chose Airbnb because of the location I chose Airbnb because of the access to household amenities (etc., fridge, stove, washing machine) I chose Airbnb because of the large amount of space I chose Airbnb for the opportunity to receive useful local information and tips from my host I chose Airbnb for the “homely” feel of the accommodation I chose Airbnb to have an authentic local experience I chose Airbnb for the opportunity to interact with my host and/or other locals I chose Airbnb for the opportunity to stay in a non- touristy, residential neighborhood I chose Airbnb because I prefer the philosophy of Airbnb over other types of accommodation I chose Airbnb because I wanted the money I spent on accommodation to go directly to local people

In you next travel you are going to Use again Airbnb Go to a hotel

Postgraduate Dissertation 56 “Anna Liana”, “The impact of sharing economy into the tourist landscape is nowadays considered as a threat to the existing hotel industry.The Airbnb case.”

3rd and 4rth research questions Do you compare the offers Airbnb, and hotels offer before making you choice? Yes No

According to the expectations you have, which accommodation you think best suits the below: Airbnb Hotel Cleanliness Comfort Easy to book Ease of checking in/out Ease of resolving unexpected problems Experiencing local culture Good value for money Consequence between comments of previous users and reality Number of options / features (etc., a number of different rooms with different features) Service Best location choice Quiet Possible feedback and evaluation Security Feeling of being home Socially engaged and being friend with new people

Which in your opinion are the benefits provided by conventional hotels versus Airbnb Strongly Disagree Somewhat Somewhat Agree Strongly disagree disagree agree agree Booking to a hotel is simpler Hotels provide more facilities (eg breakfast) Hotels provide more comfort Hotels ensure greater security Hotels ensure a sense of luxury

Postgraduate Dissertation 57 “Anna Liana”, “The impact of sharing economy into the tourist landscape is nowadays considered as a threat to the existing hotel industry.The Airbnb case.”

Demographic data

Age 18-28 29-38 39-48 49-58 59+

Gender Male Female

In comparison with the average family income in your country, is your family income Higher than the average Same as the average Lower than the average

Postgraduate Dissertation 58 “Anna Liana”, “The impact of sharing economy into the tourist landscape is nowadays considered as a threat to the existing hotel industry.The Airbnb case.”

Author’s Statement: I hereby expressly declare that, according to the article 8 of Law 1559/1986, this dissertation is solely the product of my personal work, does not infringe any intellectual property, personality and personal data rights of third parties, does not contain works/contributions from third parties for which the permission of the authors/beneficiaries is required, is not the product of partial or total plagiarism, and that the sources used are limited to the literature references alone and meet the rules of scientific citations.

Postgraduate Dissertation 59