Terminator or accelerator? Lessons from the peer-to-peer accommodation hosts in China in responses to COVID-19

Mo Zhang, Ruoqi Geng, Yuan Huang, Shengce Ren*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

This study investigates how peer-to-peer accommodation (P2PA) hosts in China have responded to the COVID-19 pandemic. A multi-case study approach was adopted to depict the decision-making logic of three different types of hosts—speculators, diplomats, and entrepreneurs—based on an awareness-motivation-capability (AMC) framework under COVID-19. The findings highlight the role of owner motivation (profit/sharing/entrepreneurial-driven) and capabilities, such as having a unique value proposition and linkages with other hospitality experience, under COVID-19. Meanwhile, the platform collaboration capability failed to support survival during the pandemic. Moreover, the current study indicated that, after the COVID-19, entrepreneurs will continue to innovate, diplomats’ operations will remain unchanged and speculators will quit hosting. Hence, COVID-19 is an accelerator of P2P industry that reserving the hosts who embrace the original features of the P2PA sector, e.g. sharing and a focus on the experience, and eliminating the hosts who have diluted the uniqueness of the sector.

Original languageEnglish
Article number102760
JournalInternational Journal of Hospitality Management
Volume92
Early online date20 Nov 2020
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jan 2021

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 71702099 ; 71572105 ; 71971137 ). The funding sources had no involvement in the study design, the data collection, analysis, and interpretation of the data, or in the decision to submit the article for publication.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 Elsevier Ltd

Keywords

  • Awareness-motivation-capability framework
  • COVID-19 pandemic
  • Hosts
  • Peer-to-peer accommodation

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