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Information and Communication Technologies in Tourism 2016 pp 695–708Cite as

Strategic Self-presentation in the Sharing Economy: Implications for Host Branding

Abstract

Peer-to-peer accommodation platform is a unique venue of commercial social exchanges where mixed-mode interactions (i.e., online first, then offline) occur between hosts and guests. With the continuous growth of sharing economy comes the importance to better understand the strategies that hosts use to communicate with and attract their prospective consumers. Using the framework of personal branding and self-presentation, this study explored the different ways hosts of peer-to-peer accommodation articulate their profile online. Using host descriptions from 12,785 Airbnb listings in New York, United States, five clusters of host self-presentation were identified: The Global Citizen, The Local Expert, The Personable, The Established, and The Creative. Honest and positive self-presentation, as well as competence strategies were identified from these clusters. The host profiles were further explored to identify differences in their behaviour, listing characteristics, and guest review ratings.

Keywords

  • Sharing economy
  • Personal branding
  • Host branding
  • Self-presentation
  • Airbnb

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Hospitality Business Management, Washington State University, Vancouver, WA, USA

    Iis P. Tussyadiah

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  1. Iis P. Tussyadiah
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Correspondence to Iis P. Tussyadiah .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Tourism, Bournemouth University, Poole, Dorset, United Kingdom

    Alessandro Inversini

  2. HES-SO Valais, Sierre, Valais, Switzerland

    Roland Schegg

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Tussyadiah, I.P. (2016). Strategic Self-presentation in the Sharing Economy: Implications for Host Branding. In: Inversini, A., Schegg, R. (eds) Information and Communication Technologies in Tourism 2016. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28231-2_50

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