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Purpose: We challenge the conventional approach to distinguish between professional and non-professional Airbnb hosts by solely using the number of managed listings. Design/methodology/approach: We leverage the recently released platform policy that categorizes hosts' professionalism by their self-declared status. Our multinomial modeling approach predicts true host status, factoring in the number of managed listings and controlling for listing and host traits. We employ data from five major European cities collected through scraping the Airbnb webpage. Findings: Our research reveals that relying solely on the number of listings managed falls short of accurately predicting the host type, leading to difficulties in evaluating the platform's impact on the local housing market and reducing the effectiveness of policy intervention. Moreover, we advocate using more fine-grained measures to differentiate further between semi-professional and professional hosts who exhibit heterogeneous economic behaviors. Research limitations/implications: Reliable professionalism metrics are essential to curb unethical practices, promote market transparency and ensure a level playing field for all market participants. Originality/value: This work pioneers the revelation of the inadequacy of a commonly used measure for predicting host professionalism accurately. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background Individuals with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) feel rejected even when socially included. The pathophysiological mechanisms of this rejection bias are still unknown. Using the Cyberball paradigm, we investigated whether patients with BPD, display altered physiological responses to social inclusion and ostracism, as assessed by changes in Respiratory Sinus Arrhythmia (RSA). Methods The sample comprised 30 patients with BPD, 30 with remitted Major Depressive Disorder (rMDD) and 30 Healthy Controls (HC). Self-report ratings of threats toward one’s fundamental need to belong and RSA reactivity were measured immediately after each Cyberball condition. Results Participants with BPD showed lower RSA at rest than HC. Only patients with BPD, reported higher threats to fundamental needs and exhibited a further decline in RSA after the Inclusion condition. Conclusions Individuals with BPD experience a biased appraisal of social inclusion both at the subjective and physiological level, showing higher feelings of ostracism and a breakdown of autonomic regulation to including social scenarios.

This research explores the effects of High Tide alerts on hotel prices in Venice, a city that is vulnerable to the impacts of extreme climate events due to its fragile ecosystem and a long history of floods in the city center. By analyzing and combining price data from Booking.com with publicly available information on tides and weather, this study uses regression discontinuity design to test for changes in hotel prices when tide levels reach a critical threshold. The results offer insights into the sensitivity of hotel prices to weather alerts and provide valuable information on the potential impact of climate change on Venice's tourism-driven economy, with implications for the cost–benefit analysis of activating protective barriers for lagoon protection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work presents a longitudinal analysis of hotel customer satisfaction, making a comparison between pre- and post-pandemic situations, as well as a detailed analysis of the evolution of customer satisfaction throughout the different phases of the COVID-19 crisis. To this end, we used representative microdata from more than 405,000 online reviews of 802 Venetian accommodation facilities. Data were retrieved from the Booking.com platform and cover the 2018–2021 period. Results point to a systematic reduction of customer satisfaction, although the negative effect is non-linear over time. In fact, the magnitude of the effect varies according to the severity of the phase (acute vs. transitional periods) and on the replication number of the phase type (first versus second wave), displaying some adaptation effects. The paper contributes to the literature on sustained crises, with an empirical application to one of the most popular tourist destinations. Our results suggest that hotel managers should respond to critical situations taking care of their customers' satisfaction identifying their different needs depending on the crises' phases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies the change in the distance traveled by domestic tourists considering the pre- and post-pandemic outbreak summer periods of 2019 and 2020. Using representative monthly microdata involving more than 31,000 trips conducted by Spanish residents, we examine the heterogeneity in behavioral adaptation to COVID-19 based on sociodemographic and trip-related characteristics. To account for selection effects and the potential change in the population composition of travelers between the two periods, we estimate an endogenous switching regression that conducts separate regressions for the pre- and post-pandemic periods in a unified econometric framework. Our results point to heterogeneous shifts in the distance traveled by domestic travelers after COVID-19 outbreak per sociodemographic group, with notable differences by travel purpose and lower relevance of traditional determinants like income. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has disrupted the global economy. Since containment measures directly limit mobility and social interactions, the pandemic has substantially affected the tourism sector. This work explores the effect of COVID-19 exposure on people's travel intentions during the summer of 2020 use representative survey data for 3873 individuals collected in Spain, one of the countries with the highest infection and mortality rates. We define exposure to COVID-19 at two levels: (i) zonal, according to the degree of limitations imposed in the zone where the respondent lives, and (ii) individual, according to whether the individual has personally suffered from COVID-19 symptoms. We perform regression analysis and propensity score matching and also consider potential treatment heterogeneity. The results consistently show that those who were more severely affected by the pandemic exhibit a relatively higher willingness to travel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Introduction Autoimmune hemolytic anemia in children younger than 2 years of age is usually characterized by a severe course, with a mortality rate of approximately 10%. The prolonged immunosuppression following specific treatment may be associated with a high risk of developing severe infections. Recently, the use of monoclonal antibodies (rituximab) has allowed sustained remissions to be obtained in the majority of pediatric patients with refractory autoimmune hemolytic anemia. Case presentation We describe the case of an 8-month-old Caucasian girl affected by a severe form of autoimmune hemolytic anemia, which required continuous steroid treatment for 16 months. Thereafter, she received 4 weekly doses of rituximab (375 mg/m2/dose) associated with steroid therapy, which was then tapered over the subsequent 2 weeks. One month after the last dose of rrituximab, she presented with recurrence of severe hemolysis and received two more doses of rrituximab. The patient remained in clinical remission for 7 months, before presenting with a further relapse. An alternative heavy immunosuppressive therapy was administered combining cyclophosphamide 10 mg/kg/day for 10 days with methylprednisolone 40 mg/kg/day for 5 days, which was then tapered down over 3 weeks. While still on steroid therapy, the patient developed an interstitial pneumonia with Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome, which required immediate admission to the intensive care unit where extracorporeal membrane oxygenation therapy was administered continuously for 37 days. At 16-month follow-up, the patient is alive and in good clinical condition, with no organ dysfunction, free from any immunosuppressive treatment and with a normal Hb level. Conclusions This case shows that aggressive combined immunosuppressive therapy may lead to a sustained complete remission in children with refractory autoimmune hemolytic anemia. However, the severe life-threatening complication presented by our patient indicates that strict clinical monitoring must be vigilantly performed, that antimicrobial prophylaxis should always be considered and that experienced medical and nursing staff must be available, to deliver highly specialized supportive salvage therapies, if necessary, during intensive care monitoring.