Attributes influencing guests’ experiences: a comparison of nonprofit and for-profit peer-to-peer accommodation platforms

Abstract

Peer-to-peer accommodation has generated an ecosystem of platforms with different business models (i.e., for-profit and nonprofit). This study aims to identify and compare attributes that influence guests’ experiences as reviewed on the for-profit platform Airbnb and the nonprofit platforms Couchsurfing.com and HomeExchange.com according to a three-dimensional experience theoretical model and a methodological approach to interpret these attributes. The study used text-mining techniques to analyze 772,768 online travel reviews representing Spain’s four most-visited cities. Findings show that attributes influencing guests’ experiences in the case of nonprofit platforms relate to the authenticity dimension of experience (e.g., existential values and travel philosophy). Furthermore, guests reported that their guest–host interaction was the most representative attribute and that, unlike with Airbnb, such interaction helped to create a more authentic experience. By contrast, attributes of guests’ experiences in the case of for-profit platforms related to the physical amenities and characteristics that guests would expect to find in hotels. Those results can allow destination managers and accommodation practitioners to better understand users of peer-to-peer accommodations and thereby design more suitable strategies and experiences for them.