The effect of type of lodging and professionalism on the efficiency of P2P accommodation

Abstract

This paper analyses the effect of the different levels of hosts’ professionalism (single and multi-unit host) and accommodation types on the time-varying technical efficiency of P2P accommodation. To do this, we employ a panel data stochastic frontier model which disentangles time-varying efficiency from unobserved heterogeneity. We use a database from Airbnb listings for the Canary Islands (Spain) from January 2019 to September 2020, including the lockdown period due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The results indicate that the lowest priced lodgings are the most efficient accommodation type and that properties managed by single-unit hosts are more efficient than those managed by multi-unit hosts. These results are theoretically founded on the existence of positive agglomeration effects in the hospitality industry.