Impact of free Wi-Fi on guest satisfaction and price of properties in sharing economy accommodations

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the influence of offering free Wi-Fi on prices and guest satisfaction of accommodation properties in the sharing economy. To that aim, data on all the listings available on the Airbnb platform in Spain were automatically downloaded. These listings were classified in urban and non-urban ones. Based on a final sample of 74,722 apartments and houses, the impact of Wi-Fi and other property amenities was tested using linear regression analysis. Our results show that offering free Wi-Fi has a positive impact on both guest satisfaction and the price of properties. In the case of price, Wi-Fi was the most important amenity. Thus, property owners should seriously consider offering free Wi-Fi because it involves a daily price increase of 16.28 euros, therefore guaranteeing return-on-investment. To our best knowledge, this is the first study to investigate the importance of free Wi-Fi for guest satisfaction in sharing accommodations. It is also one of the first studies to take into consideration non-urban properties since most of the available research has analyzed properties in large cities. Results join the findings about the importance of free Wi-Fi in the traditional accommodation industry, confirming the importance of this technology for the tourism sector.