Technological heterogeneity and time-varying efficiency of sharing accommodation: Evidence from the Canary Islands.

The production of services in the accommodation sharing industry is heterogeneous in the sense that listings with different strategic management could adopt distinct technologies. This paper analyses the time-varying efficiency of the peer-to-peer accommodation sector using the input distance stochastic frontier model with random coefficients to accommodate both multi-input and multi-output technology and the technological heterogeneity among listings. An empirical analysis is conducted based on data from Airbnb and HomeAway listings in the Canary Islands (Spain), before, during and after the COVID-19 lockdown (source: AirDNA), in the period January 2019-September 2020 (monthly data). The results show technological heterogeneity between listings and time-varying inefficiency which negatively depends on productivity. Moreover, multi-unit hosts are clearly more efficient than single-unit hosts. A mean efficiency of around 78% during the study period was estimated. • The technological heterogeneity of the peer-to-peer accommodation is analysed. • The effect of the COVID-19 lockdown on the efficiency of listings is calculated. • A mean efficiency of 78% during the study period was estimated. • Multi-unit hosts are more efficient than single unit hosts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]