he article investigates platform-mediated tourism practices by focusing on the new recreational activities offered byAirbnb, namely“Experiences”. In recent years, the leading short-term rental platform has started an expansion strategybeyond accommodation towards services based on immersive activities led by local hosts. Drawing upon previous re-search on short-term accommodation platforms, we explore the platformization of such recreational activities bylooking at their spatialities, the place-based resources engaged and emerging self-entrepreneurial practices. Our effortis experimental since most literature on Airbnb deals with accommodation listings while Experiences differ from ac-commodation since they combine different typesof local resources, which are less spatially constrained, with the host'spersonal skills. This paper contributes to understanding the spatial and socio-economic implications of the Airbnb ex-pansion strategy through Experiences. We develop a case study based on 385 Experiences collected in Florence (Italy)in 2019 and analyze their location and distribution patterns, the estimated revenue generated, the typology of re-sources which are commodified through such activities, and the professional profiles of the hosts. Results show thatExperiences seem to erode the well-known spatial concentration of accommodation listings in city centres. This is ex-plained by the different nature of the resources mobilized by the Experiences, which privilege the experiential charac-ter of these services (e.g. food tasting, cooking classes). Furthermore, Experiences become a self-employmentopportunity for the hosts, reinforcing the unregulated and permeable environment of the digital platform.
Capineri, C., Romano, A. (2021). The platformization of tourism: from accommodation to Experiences. DIGITAL GEOGRAPHY AND SOCIETY(2), 1-7 [10.1016/j.diggeo.2021.100012].
The platformization of tourism: from accommodation to Experiences
Capineri C.Writing – Original Draft Preparation
;
2021-01-01
Abstract
he article investigates platform-mediated tourism practices by focusing on the new recreational activities offered byAirbnb, namely“Experiences”. In recent years, the leading short-term rental platform has started an expansion strategybeyond accommodation towards services based on immersive activities led by local hosts. Drawing upon previous re-search on short-term accommodation platforms, we explore the platformization of such recreational activities bylooking at their spatialities, the place-based resources engaged and emerging self-entrepreneurial practices. Our effortis experimental since most literature on Airbnb deals with accommodation listings while Experiences differ from ac-commodation since they combine different typesof local resources, which are less spatially constrained, with the host'spersonal skills. This paper contributes to understanding the spatial and socio-economic implications of the Airbnb ex-pansion strategy through Experiences. We develop a case study based on 385 Experiences collected in Florence (Italy)in 2019 and analyze their location and distribution patterns, the estimated revenue generated, the typology of re-sources which are commodified through such activities, and the professional profiles of the hosts. Results show thatExperiences seem to erode the well-known spatial concentration of accommodation listings in city centres. This is ex-plained by the different nature of the resources mobilized by the Experiences, which privilege the experiential charac-ter of these services (e.g. food tasting, cooking classes). Furthermore, Experiences become a self-employmentopportunity for the hosts, reinforcing the unregulated and permeable environment of the digital platform.File | Dimensione | Formato | |
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https://hdl.handle.net/11365/1138822