Risks in Relation to Adopting Airbnb Accommodation: The Role of Fear of COVID-19

Mohamed Fathy Agina (), Nadir Aliane, Osman El Sawy, Hazem Ahmed Khairy and Sameh Fayyad
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Mohamed Fathy Agina: Hotel Management Department, Higher Institute for Specific Studies, Heliopolis, Cairo 11771, Egypt
Nadir Aliane: Management Department, College of Business Administration, King Faisal University, Al-Hassa 31982, Saudi Arabia
Osman El Sawy: Hotel Studies Department, Faculty of Tourism and Hotels, Suez Canal University, Ismailia 41522, Egypt
Hazem Ahmed Khairy: Hotel Management Department, Faculty of Tourism and Hotels, University of Sadat City, Sadat City 32897, Egypt
Sameh Fayyad: Hotel Studies Department, Faculty of Tourism and Hotels, Suez Canal University, Ismailia 41522, Egypt

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 6, 1-19

Abstract: This study examined the impacts of perceived Airbnb risks, i.e., performance, financial, physical, social, time, and psychological risks on tourists’ intention to use Airbnb. The study also explored the moderating effect of the fear of COVID-19 on the relationship between perceived Airbnb risks and the tourist’s intention to use Airbnb. The data was collected from 248 customers of Airbnb using a survey approach. The data were analyzed utilizing the Smart PLS V.4. The PLS-SEM results revealed that Airbnb (physical, psychological, time, performance, financial and social risks) had a significant negative effect on the intention to use Airbnb. On the other side, the fear of COVID-19 acted as a moderator between Airbnb’s physical, psychological, and social risks and the intention to use Airbnb, indicating that customers tend to tolerate time and performance risks when having a high level of fear of COVID-19 and prefer to use Airbnb regardless of them. This shift in customer behavior towards customers’ intention to use Airbnb in light of the fear of COVID-19 gives Airbnb an edge that should be exploited via remedying other risks. It was suggested that the Airbnb hosts’ awareness of the importance of Airbnb in the context of tourism in Egypt should be enhanced. Additionally, a legislative framework should govern Airbnb transactions to secure tourists in dealing with Airbnb hosts. Professionalism in providing Airbnb services should also be adopted. Future studies in the context of the current subject could conduct multi-group analyses according to different types of Airbnb accommodation and use a larger sample size.

Keywords: COVID-19; perceived risks; Airbnb; accommodation; sharing economy; Egypt (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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