Enabling people with impairments to use Airbnb

Melanie Randle and Sara Dolnicar

Annals of Tourism Research, 2019, vol. 76, issue C, 278-289

Abstract: Paid peer-to-peer accommodation networks, including Airbnb, have been accused of excluding people with impairments. This study analyses host and guest posts on the Airbnb hosting community to (1) reveal key barriers preventing people with impairments from fully participating in peer-to-peer accommodation trading, and (2) identify solutions to overcoming these barriers, using as theoretical framework the social model of disability. The key conclusion is that we may be witnessing a fundamental shift in the nature of barriers: as the growing peer-to-peer accommodation sector increases the quantity and variability of accommodation options, the primary challenge is no longer a lack of suitable accommodation (physical barrier), but the identification of suitable accommodation (informational barrier). Informational barriers are potentially easier to overcome.

Keywords: Impairment; Disability; Airbnb; Peer-to-peer accommodation networks (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (8)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:anture:v:76:y:2019:i:c:p:278-289

DOI: 10.1016/j.annals.2019.04.015

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