ABSTRACT
More and more tourists are publishing and sharing their opinions in real time, making it increasingly easy to find the opinions and personal experiences of others when searching for tourism products online. Airbnb is an example of the new paradigm and the best-known case, exemplifying a development which is following the normal pattern of a disruptive innovation and a P2P business model. This chapter analyzes the extent to which the Airbnb business model might be obtaining a competitive advantage over conventional competitors in the hotel sector. The increasing importance of tourists' online opinions of accommodation is analyzed as an input to obtain useful satisfaction indicators for comparing tourist satisfaction between the two business models: Airbnb and conventional accommodation (hotels, apartments, Bed and Breakfast). The chapter presents the objectives, methodology and main results, concluding with a discussion of the main findings.
