•The moral effects of technology are examined in the context of alternative tourism.•A ‘moral affordance’ framework is applied to an analysis of CouchSurfing.•Findings reveal how a moral economy and ...moral encounters are enabled by technology.•The contextual nature of ‘moral affordances’ is discussed.
The purpose of this study is to examine the role social networking technologies play in the moral economy of alternative tourism. The study takes as its empirical focus the online hospitality exchange network Couchsurfing. Using the concept of ‘moral affordances’, the analysis outlines the way Couchsurfing’s technical systems, software design, and search algorithms enable participants to engage in a moral economy based on the non-commodified provision of accommodation to strangers and personal relations of trust and intimacy. Findings suggest that these affordances are not isolated effects of the technologies themselves, but rather reflect a broader moral landscape in which alternative tourism is performed.
•The “sharing” phenomenon is the hottest trend in the hospitality and tourism industry.•The literature review identifies eight topics related to P2P AP.•Four topics define the business constituent ...elements of the SE, three are related to the impacts, one develops a holistic approach.•A research agenda has been developed, considering the general trends and research opportunities for the eight topics.
The “sharing” phenomenon represents one of the hottest trends in the hotel and tourism industry. As the number of academic papers in this field is growing, now appears to be an appropriate time to take stock of the research. This article contributes to filling this gap by illustrating the state of peer-to-peer accommodation platforms (P2P APs) and identifying useful future research avenues. The paper is structured around two research questions: What is the state of the literature investigating P2P APs? What are some promising future research areas concerning P2P APs? This study proposes eight topics, while the literature review includes 189 published papers. After classifying the findings, this paper presents and discusses some pitfalls, as well as suggests implications for future research, while it also outlines specific research opportunities that are particularly suited for each of the eight topics.
This paper reviews academic research on P2P accommodation sharing over the 2010-2016 period. Using a systematic review, the paper identifies 71 articles published over this period. Existing studies ...mainly focus on Airbnb and Couchsurfing as exemplars of P2P accommodation sharing. We utilize the multi-level perspective (MLP) to conceptualize the literature and identify future research directions. Using this framework we explore how P2P accommodation sharing is impacted by the landscape and the current regime in the accommodation sector. From the systematic review, seven key themes were identified: conceptual development; regulation; macro-level impacts; regime response; host behavior; guest/host experience; and marketing issues. Many of the existing studies explore the niche level of the MLP. We suggest that researchers also examine interactions between the landscape, regime and niche levels within the context of the sharing economy.
Couchsurfing (CS) is now regarded as an alternative platform that reflects changes in tourist accommodation preferences. The CS platform, based on the sharing economy, offers an opportunity to give ...various tourist experiences to travelers, as well as accommodation. This study aims to provide information about the travel motivations, prejudices, risk perceptions and experiences of CS guests. It has original value for the relevant literature, as it delves deeply into CS guests using a phenomenological approach. The present results show that the desire to sightsee new places, meet new people and recognize different cultures has motivated the participants. The study found that although most of the participants did not have prejudices or risk perceptions, CS first timers did. It has also been observed that participants are highly satisfied with their CS experiences and intend to take part in CS activities again.
Digital platforms radically alter socio-economic and organizational patterns. In an ecological sense, they enable the rapid extension of tolerance limits by digitally scaling variables such as the ...availability of accommodation or labour. However, such maximization of specific variables in a complex ecology bears the danger of pathological runaway patterns. In our paper we draw on the work of Gregory Bateson to outline an analytical approach for the study of digital platforms as ecological phenomena, focusing on the effects of digitalization on the context in which platforms operate. To study such meta-patterns, we elaborate three interrelated concepts: stress, adaptation and budgets of flexibility. We exemplify these ideas through a longitudinal study of the early digital platform Couchsurfing and develop implications for our understanding of technology and organization.
Presented as an alternative form of tourism, Couchsurfing is a predominantly non-commercial accommodation type where hosts offer a "couch" to travelers through a hospitality network. Couchsurfing.com ...is considered as an icon of the sharing economy and more specifically of shareable tourism. This article provides a deeper understanding of couchsurfers' motivations and shared values. Through an empirical qualitative study, we discuss the transformative power of Couchsurfing experiences, the underlying transformational processes, conditions, and socio-psychological and behavioral consequences. We also discuss the findings' implications for society, businesses, and tourism in general.
Accommodation is a fundamental part of tourism, and it plays an important role in the tourist experience. The emerging economy and especially the peer-to-peer accommodations (P2P) have shaken up the ...conventional accommodations sector. While most P2P accommodation studies have focused on the monetary platform, which includes Airbnb, there is little knowledge about the linkages of involvement and behavioral intentions on the non-profit accommodation users. This empirical study applied a multiple-methods approach to investigate the positive impacts of involvement on couchsurfing, such as P2P accommodations on the destination image, familiarity, and the behavioral intentions. The data was collected from 609 travelers who have used couchsurfing while traveling to Turkey from 2016 to 2017. The results revealed that involvement in couchsurfing improved the destination image, familiarity, the E-WoM, and the revisit intention of couchsurfers. This study also discusses the practical implications.
Couchsurfing is a website, i.e., a platform that provides services to those who dare to use free
accommodation in someone’s home and a platform that offers the opportunity to socialize with
other ...Couchsurfers and join groups where mutual experiences on tourism and destination activities
are exchanged. Given that the concept of Couchsurfing is unusual in comparison to other platforms
of sharing economy, the aim of this research paper is to determine the profile or characteristics of
platform users and the impact of Couchsurfing on destination tourism. The main goal is to answer
the question on how a platform that provides free accommodation in a foreigner’s home contributes
to the development of tourism and the recognition of the destination. For this purpose, a survey
questionnaire on the attitudes of users was conducted, as well as an in-depth interview with the hosts.
Methods of analysis, comparison and descriptive method were used. The focus of the research is
Croatia as a tourist destination and the key results include financial analysis in terms of consumption
and registration of tourists on Couchsurfing who do not pay the sojourn tax, as well as the effects of
supply, demand and marketing through tourists’ activities in the destination including social media
and other destination image forming activities. These aspects were complemented by research on the
safety and future of Couchsurfing.
Based on the theory of interpersonal relationships, this study aims to explore the process of interpersonal trust building in a virtual community involving both online and offline interactions. ...Results show that the interpersonal trust between couch surfers and couch host is a dynamic process covering three stages namely early, middle, and late. Initial trust is formed online at a high level, and then it is successfully transferred from the online world to the offline world. Meanwhile, the connotations of interpersonal trust develop continually from courtesy to instrumental, and then to emotional phase, with the development of the interactions between the two parties. Shaped by different factors under each phase, trust evolves from probable anticipation to mundane routine trust and then to ideological trust. A model illustrating the above process that how factors influence the process of interpersonal trust building and the evolution of trust connotations was proposed.
•Trust building in couchsurfing is a dynamic process.•Initial trust is formed online first and then transferred to the offline world.•Interpersonal trust has different connotations in different stages.•Horizontally trust building includes scene, input and output aspects.•Longitudinally trust building evolves from courtesy to instrumental to emotional.
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