The evolution of ‘Airbnb-tourism’: Demand-side dynamics around international use of peer-to-peer accommodation in Australia

This paper investigates the evolution of Airbnb and other peer-to-peer accommodation use by international visitors in Australia over 12 quarters, from 2015 to 2017. It applies a dynamic logistic regression to investigate how user characteristics associated with peer-to-peer accommodations evolve over time. This study contributes to understanding the development of consumption patterns around the Airbnb phenomenon. It is also the first paper to investigate the consumer dynamism in the peer-to-peer accommodation sector beyond Airbnb. Findings indicate that Airbnb consumption has evolved, showing patterns of convergence and ‘normalisation’, supported by a growing Asian participation and increasing regional stays. This dynamism is not shared by other platforms, which suggests peer-to-peer accommodation is becoming a single-platform story rather than a thriving broader accommodation-category. This article also launches the Annals of Tourism Research Curated Collection on Peer-to-peer accommodation networks, a special selection of research in this field.