Consumer Behavior in the Sharing Economy – Airbnb Consumer Adoption Factors

The growth of the accommodation sector in the sharing economy and the change of behavior from the consumer’s side in the way they trust peer-to-peer services made the main goal of this study, which provides a deeper overview of the practical case of Airbnb consumer adoption factors. The use of a mixed research methodology was applied, including a quantitative and qualitative research and analysis to extract the relevant insights from the consumers. Airbnb faces now the challenge to compete with new entrants in the sharing econo-my market like HomeAway and still needs to improve its website design and interac-tion. Most of the consumers choose Airbnb mainly for the price, the accommodation amenities and the location, leaving as major non-adoption factor the lack of trust in the hosts.