Airbnb in tourist cities: comparing spatial patterns of hotels and peer-to-peer accommodation

📝 Abstract

In recent years, what has become known as collaborative consumption has undergone rapid expansion through peer-to-peer (P2P) platforms. In the field of tourism, a particularly notable example is that of Airbnb. This article analyses the spatial patterns of Airbnb in Barcelona and compares them with hotels and sightseeing spots. New sources of data, such as Airbnb listings and geolocated photographs are used. Analysis of bivariate spatial autocorrelation reveals a close spatial relationship between Airbnb and hotels, with a marked centre-periphery pattern, although Airbnb predominates around the main hotel axis and hotels predominate in some peripheral areas of the city. Another interesting finding is that Airbnb capitalises more on the advantages of proximity to the main tourist attractions of the city than does the hotel sector. Finally, it was possible to detect those parts of the city that have seen the greatest increase in pressure from tourism related to Airbnb’s recent expansion.

💡 Analysis

In recent years, what has become known as collaborative consumption has undergone rapid expansion through peer-to-peer (P2P) platforms. In the field of tourism, a particularly notable example is that of Airbnb. This article analyses the spatial patterns of Airbnb in Barcelona and compares them with hotels and sightseeing spots. New sources of data, such as Airbnb listings and geolocated photographs are used. Analysis of bivariate spatial autocorrelation reveals a close spatial relationship between Airbnb and hotels, with a marked centre-periphery pattern, although Airbnb predominates around the main hotel axis and hotels predominate in some peripheral areas of the city. Another interesting finding is that Airbnb capitalises more on the advantages of proximity to the main tourist attractions of the city than does the hotel sector. Finally, it was possible to detect those parts of the city that have seen the greatest increase in pressure from tourism related to Airbnb’s recent expansion.

📄 Content

1 Airbnb in tourist cities: comparing spatial patterns of hotels and peer-to-peer accommodation

Journal: arXiv preprint | Submitted on 22 Jun 2016

JAVIER GUTIÉRREZ Departamento de Geografía Humana.
Universidad Complutense de Madrid javiergutierrez@ghis.ucm.es

JUAN CARLOS GARCÍA-PALOMARES
Departamento de Geografía Humana.
Universidad Complutense de Madrid jcgarcia@ucm.es

GUSTAVO ROMANILLOS Departamento de Geografía Humana.
Universidad Complutense de Madrid gustavro@ucm.es

MARÍA HENAR SALAS-OLMEDO Departamento de Geografía Humana.
Universidad Complutense de Madrid msalas01@ucm.es

Abstract: In recent years, what has become known as collaborative consumption has undergone rapid expansion through peer-to-peer (P2P) platforms. In the field of tourism, a particularly notable example is that of Airbnb, a service that puts travellers in contact with hosts for the purposes of renting accommodation, either rooms or entire homes/apartments. Although Airbnb may bring benefits to cities in that it increases tourist numbers, its concentration in certain areas of heritage cities can lead to serious conflict with the local population, as a result of rising rents and processes of gentrification. This article analyses the patterns of spatial distribution of Airbnb accommodation in Barcelona, one of Europe’s major tourist cities, and compares them with the accommodation offered by hotels and the places most visited by tourists. The study makes use of new sources of geolocated Big Data, such as Airbnb listings and geolocated photographs on Panoramio. Analysis of bivariate spatial autocorrelation reveals a close spatial relationship between the accommodation offered by Airbnb and the one offered by hotels, with a marked centre-periphery pattern, although Airbnb predominates over hotels around the city’s main hotel axis and hotels predominate over Airbnb in some peripheral areas of the city. Another interesting finding is that Airbnb capitalises more on the advantages of proximity to the city’s main tourist attractions than does the hotel sector. Finally, it was possible to detect those parts of the city that have seen the greatest increase in pressure from tourism related to Airbnb’s recent expansion.
Keywords: Collaborative consumption, P2P platforms, Airbnb, mass tourism, spatial analysis, Barcelona, sharing economy

1. Introduction The last few years have seen the emergence of the so-called sharing economy (also known as collaborative consumption), within the framework of a lifestyle in which more importance is attached to sharing goods than to owning them (“using rather than owning”). With this system, consumers benefit from lower costs for using goods and services at the same time as they avoid wasting resources (Leismann et al., 2013). Collaborative consumption has been driven by the development of Internet platforms that facilitate peer-to-peer relations.
   The Internet and especially Web 2.0 has brought about many new ways of sharing as well as facilitating older forms of sharing on a larger scale (Belk, 2014; Botsman y Rogers, 2011). Collaborative consumption could therefore be broadly defined nowadays as peer-to-peer-based activity for obtaining, giving, or sharing the access to goods and services, coordinated through community-based online services (Hamari et al., 2015).
   One of the fields in which collaborative consumption has burst onto the scene with greater intensity is that of tourism, both in the travel sector (car-sharing) and that of accommodation (home exchanges and room/apartment rentals), the best-known platforms being BlaBlaCar and Airbnb, respectively. The exchange of 2 accommodations between private individuals has historically developed informally, but the Internet, and more specifically Web 2.0, has allowed it to grow exponentially and take on new characteristics (Russo and Quaglieri, 2014). Peer-to-peer platforms in the field of accommodation go well beyond marketing and advertising the properties. They screen both parties, have access to the owners’ inventories, manage rental bookings, collect payments and provide some form of insurance coverage for damages caused by the renters (Pizam, 2014). Compared to business models that connect the business with the consumer (B2C), such as Expedia or Booking.com for hotel bookings, the business model for these alternative platforms is based on direct contact between individuals (person to person or P2P), which may involve hosts and travellers (Airbnb) or people who wish to exchange their accommodation free of charge (Couchsurfing). Renters can obtain accommodations at lower prices from Airbnb than from hotels in most cities
   Airbnb is the most successful P2P platform in the field of accommodation and defines itself on its website (www.airbnb.com ) as “a trusted community marketplace for people to list, discover, and book unique accommodations around the world — online or from a

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