Cosmopolitan tourists in P2P accommodation: an exploratory study of online reviews on airbnb

Abstract

This study compares guest reviews of Airbnb accommodations by country of origin, in order to identify cultural evidences. An exploratory study was conducted in two selected Airbnb accommodations through content analysis of 775 reviews by guests from 32 different countries. The authors analysed the data according to two dimensions of Hofstede’s Cultural Theory: (1) individualism/collectivism - the vision that the well-being is achieved by the action of each individual versus the collaboration of the society as a group; and (2) masculinity/femininity – a patriarchal society seeking success versus a society where quality of life is based on the well-being of all. The results suggest homogeneity in online reviews by country of origin. This result may be justified by the prevalence of cosmopolitan tourists in Peer-to-Peer (P2P) accommodation – those travellers with experience worldwide, looking to contact with the locals and who avoid reflecting cultural values due to their cosmopolitan mindset. The paper provides important implications both for managers of P2P platforms looking for universal legitimacy and to the theoretical research into cultural studies regarding the cosmopolitanism of the sharing economy.