The study examines short-term rental industry response to COVID-19 pandemic.
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The short-term rental industry lacked preparedness for a long-term global crisis.
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Short-term rental platforms adopted high level of communication with stakeholders.
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Ambivalent reactions from stakeholders to short-term rental platform responses.
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Temporary short -term rental switch to long-term rental market in some countries.
Abstract
Contingency plans and crisis management strategies have been implemented by the short-term rental industry to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic. This paper examines the strategies adopted by three key groups of stakeholders: short-term rental platforms (e.g. Airbnb, Booking.com), service providers (represented by property management companies and short-term rental associations) and policymakers/tourism experts. The professional service providers, in particular, constitute a significant share of the short-term rental industry, but have not received much scholarly attention. In this respect, our study fills this gap by bringing attention to unexplored segments of the short-term rental industry. By examining and comparing the responses from these key groups, the paper contributes to the ongoing research about the workings of the short-term rental industry and its responses to the COVID-19 crisis.
Keywords
Airbnb
Booking.com
COVID-19
Crisis management
Short-term rentals
Stakeholders
Data Availability
Data will be anonymized (if needed) and made available on request.