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RESEARCH PRODUCT

Generation Y Travelers’ Intentions to Book Airbnb Accommodation: An Abstract

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Sharing economy is affecting the global economy with increasing scale, as customers can exchange commodities in an organized way under the help of an enormous number of online platforms (Balck and Cracau 2015). In the context of holiday accommodation, Airbnb’ s growth has been stunning as now it has more available rooms than hotel giants like Marriott and Hilton (Weed 2015). In fact, research has highlighted Airbnb’s potential to disrupt the traditional accommodation sector (Guttentag 2013). Given the importance of Airbnb, it is crucial to examine which factors affect intentions to book an accommodation on Airbnb. This study proposes an integrative model based on the theory of reasoned action (TRA), the technology acceptance model (TAM) and the motivation, opportunity and ability (MOA) theory to examine which factors affect Generation Y travelers’ intentions to book on Airbnb. Consistent with intention-based models, attitude was found to be significantly associated with intentions to purchase travel online. Perceived usefulness was found to positively influence attitude towards Airbnb. However, perceived usefulness and perceived risk do not influence intentions to book on Airbnb. What really matters to book on Airbnb are the motivation factors. Indeed, the results indicate that this is the strongest predictor to book on Airbnb. One of the motivations to book on Airbnb is financial, since it offers quality accommodation with lower prices. This is even more important to younger people who are becoming more used to having access to more things than they could ever own. The second most important predictor of intentions to book on Airbnb is subjective norm. Attitude towards online shopping also affects intentions to book on Airbnb. Therefore, online marketing strategies should focus on fostering referents’ opinions and creating a favourable attitude toward Airbnb.