THE USE OF RELATIONSHIP MARKETING IN PEER- TO-PEER SHARING ACCOMMODATION

THE USE OF RELATIONSHIP MARKETING IN PEER- TO-PEER SHARING ACCOMMODATION

Mariana Pinto Sarmento

Orientador

Professora Doutora Beatriz Casais

Dissertação apresentada

ao Instituto Politécnico do Cávado e do Ave

para obtenção do Grau de Mestre em Gestão do Turismo

Este trabalho não inclui as críticas e sugestões feitas pelo Júri.

março, 2020

THE USE OF RELATIONSHIP MARKETING IN PEER- TO-PEER SHARING ACCOMMODATION

Mariana Pinto Sarmento

Orientador

Professora Doutora Beatriz Casais

Dissertação apresentada

ao Instituto Politécnico do Cávado e do Ave

para obtenção do Grau de Mestre em Gestão do Turismo Este trabalho não inclui as críticas e sugestões feitas pelo Júri.

março, 2020

DECLARAÇÃO

Nome: Mariana Pinto Sarmento

Endereço eletrónico: [email protected] Cartão de Cidadão: 14969767

Titulo da Dissertação: The use of relationship marketing in peer-to-peer sharing accommodation Orientador: Professora Doutora Beatriz Casais

Ano de conclusão: 2020

Designação do Curso de Mestrado: Mestrado em Gestão do Turismo

DE ACORDO COM A LEGISLAÇÃO EM VIGOR, NÃO É PERMITIDA A REPRO-DUÇÃO DE QUALQUER PARTE DESTA DISSERTAÇÃO/TRABALHO

Instituto Politécnico do Cávado e do Ave, ___/___/______

Assinatura: ____________________________________________________

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THE USE OF RELATIONSHIP MARKETING IN PEER-TO-PEER SHARING AC- COMMODATION

ABSTRACT

The concept of sharing economy has grown in the last decade. In the tourism sector, platforms as Uber or Airbnb have gained an increasing dimension. While relationship marketing is an important topic of tourism management, the way it is used in peer-to-peer accommodations is a relevant re- search question, since it is a service based on the interaction between hosts and guests in order to generate trust when making the reservation, satisfaction during the stay, later, loyalty, positive feed- back on the platform, and long-term relationships. The purpose of this study is also to understand how relationship marketing can influence the business.

Airbnb was selected as unit of analysis, since it is the platform with the highest growth and the great- est bet on interaction between users. As a qualitative research, 30 semi-structured interviews were conducted with hosts, in order to obtain their perspective on the importance that relationship market- ing can have in the business and how it is applied. Hosts with entire houses and hosts with rooms were interviewed, both from a B2C and a C2C business perspective. Cultural differences was also taken into account in this study.

The results obtained show that the hosts are aware of the importance of interactions and personal contact with guests. The hosts also showed that they are concerned with personalising the service provided in order to increase the level of guest satisfaction. Different results were also identified depending on the type of business, type of accommodation or the culture and nationality of the stake- holders.

The results have theoretical implications as they represent advances in the field of research on rela- tionship marketing in the tourism sector and peer-to-peer accommodation. This study is also im- portant for management, allowing hosts to understand the importance of relationship marketing, as well as several ways to apply it in their business.

Keywords:

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THE USE OF RELATIONSHIP MARKETING IN PEER-TO-PEER SHARING AC- COMMODATION

RESUMO

O conceito de economia da partilha cresceu na última década. No setor de turismo, plataformas como a Uber ou Airbnb ganharam uma dimensão crescente. Embora o marketing relacional seja um tópico importante da gestão do turismo, o modo como é usado em peer-to-peer accommodations é uma questão de pesquisa relevante, pois é um serviço baseado na interação entre anfitriões e hós- pedes, com o propósito de gerar confiança na reserva, satisfação durante a estadia, e posterior- mente, lealdade, feedback positivo na plataforma e relacionamentos de longo prazo. O objetivo deste estudo é também entender como o marketing relacional pode influenciar os negócios.

O Airbnb foi selecionado como unidade de análise, por ser a plataforma com maior crescimento e a maior aposta na interação entre os utilizadores. Enquanto pesquisa qualitativa, foram realizadas 30 entrevistas semiestruturadas a anfitriões, com o propósito de obter uma perspetiva da importância que o marketing relacional pode ter no negócio e como é aplicado na prática. Foram entrevistados anfitriões com casas inteiras e anfitriões com quartos, tanto da perspetiva de negócios B2C como C2C. As diferenças culturais também foram tidas em consideração neste estudo.

Os resultados obtidos mostram que os anfitriões têm consciência da importância das interações e contacto pessoal com os hóspedes. Os anfitriões mostraram também que se preocupam em perso- nalizar o serviço prestado de forma a aumentar o nível de satisfação dos hóspedes. Foram também identificados diferentes resultados consoante o tipo de negócio, tipo de alojamento ou a cultura e nacionalidade dos intervenientes.

Os resultados deste estudo têm implicações teóricas uma vez que representam avanços no campo da investigação sobre marketing relacional no setor turístico e em peer-to-peer accommodations.

Este estudo tem também importância para a gestão, permitindo aos anfitriões perceber a importân- cia do marketing relacional, bem como diversas formas de o aplicar nos seus negócios.

Palavras-chave:

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DEDICATION

For my grandmother Beatriz, who would be genuinely happy to see me reach this stage of my life.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The whole process that gave rise to this work had the support of some people who helped to reach this moment and for that I owe a special thanks to them.

First of all, I would like to thank my advisor, Professor Beatriz Casais, for the support provided from the first moment. For all the patience and encouragement in this long process that had moments of greatest discouragement, but that never let me give up and always made me work harder and better.

I would also like to thank my whole family, especially my parents and sister, I know it has been a long and challenging year and without their support and patience I would not have been able to overcome all obstacles.

I also owe a special thanks to my friends who accompanied me not only in the process of carrying out the dissertation, but throughout my academic and personal path. Especially Juliana Fernandes, my great companion in this challenge in which this mutual support was decisive for the result ob- tained. And also to the person who introduced me to marketing for the first time and made me feel immediately that this was the way to go and that I don't regret anything, thank you Miguel Veiga.

I absolutely must thank all my teachers who over the years have encouraged me to do my best and taught me everything I know today.

Finally, I also owe thanks to all the people who contributed directly to the elaboration of this disser- tation, namely all the interviewees, for having accepted to participate in the study and for the availa- bility shown.

Thank you all so much, alone I would never have managed to reach this most gratifying moment of my life.

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LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

B2C – Business-to-consumer C2C – Consumer-to-consumer

CRM – Customer Relationship Management P2P – Peer-to-peer

WOM – Word-of-mouth

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ÍNDEX

Abstract ...i

Resumo ... iii

Dedication ...v

Acknowledgements ... vii

List of Abbreviations ... ix

Figures Index ... xiii

Tables Index ... xiii

1. Introduction... 1

1.1. Motivation for the Theme ... 1

1.2. Framework and Relevance of the Study ... 2

1.3. Objectives and Research Question ... 3

1.4. Methodological Approach and Dissertation Structure ... 3

2. Literature Review ... 5

2.1. Relationship Marketing in Tourism and Hospitality ... 5

2.2. The internet and the Sharing Economy Concept ... 11

2.3. Peer-to-peer Accommodations ... 14

2.4. Satisfaction And trust in Peer-to-Peer Accommodations ... 17

3. Methodology ... 23

3.1. Research Goals ... 23

3.2. Unit of Analysis ... 24

3.3. Propositions ... 25

3.4. Research Design ... 27

3.5. Data Collection ... 27

xii

3.6. Data Analysis ... 34

4. Presentation and Discussion of Results ... 37

4.1. Trust generAted by hosts on peer-to-peer accommodations ... 37

4.2. Interactions between guests and hosts of peer-to-peer accommodations that lead to satisfaction ... 41

4.3. Type of relationship on peer-to-peer accommodations according to the type of business or accommodation... 48

4.4. The role of digital platforms on peer-to-peer accommodation business ... 52

4.5. Cultural and national differences on relahionship marketing in the context of peer-to-peer accommodations ... 56

4.6. Main conclusions of the results ... 59

5. Final Remarks ... 61

5.1. Conclusions ... 61

5.2. Contributions and Implications ... 63

5.3. Limitations and Suggestions for Future Research ... 63

References ... 65

xiii

FIGURES INDEX

Figure 1 - Dimensions of Customer Relationships ... 10

Figure 2 - Customer Loyalty Pyramid ... 10

TABLES INDEX

Table 2 - Interview Script ... 28

Table 3 - Interviewees characterization ... 31

Table 4 - Interviewees profile ... 33

Table 5 - Categories and subcategories of analysis ... 34

Table 6 - Summary of the main ideas of the results obtained ... 59

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1

1. INTRODUCTION

This chapter presents the motivation for the study of this theme, its context and the relevance of the study in question. It also presents the proposed research question and its general and specific ob- jectives. Finally, it identifies the methodological approach of the study and the structure of this dis- sertation.

1.1. MOTIVATION FOR THE THEME

With the evolution that has been seen in the concept of marketing over time, the focus is no longer only on the core product, but also on the interactions between all stakeholders (Cerro, Mogollón, &

Alves, 2010; Rahimi, Köseoglu, Ersoy, & Okumus, 2017). Thus, relationship marketing appears fo- cused on creating long-term relationships and interactions with customers, enabling greater person- alisation of the service provided, as well as greater customer satisfaction (Gummerus, von Koskull,

& Kowalkowski, 2017; Hyun & Perdue, 2017; Marques, 2014).

Relationship marketing, due to the fact that it essentially works with the closest contact with custom- ers, is visible especially in the services sector, where a direct interaction between the company and the customer is needed to provide the service, and this personal contact may have a great influence on the customer’s experience and consequently on the level of satisfaction felt, since it is not only influenced by the core product (El-Adly, 2018; Marques, 2014; Sulhaini & Sulaimiah, 2017).

In this sense, there is an interest in studying relationship marketing specifically in the tourism sector, which is an expanding sector that depends largely on human interactions for the provision of the service (Kandampully, Zhang, & Jaakkola, 2018; Merinero-Rodríguez & Pulido-Fernández, 2016;

Wang, Law, Hung, & Guillet, 2014). The tourism sector is very broad and includes services such as accommodation, restaurants, tourist experiences, and is constantly changing (Zgolli & Zaiem, 2017).

The best example of this is the accommodation, where people no longer use hotels only, and has a wide variety of options such as hostels, bed & breakfast, free accommodations and peer-to-peer accommodations (P2P), so they can choose the option that best suits their needs and interests (Pesonen & Tussyadiah, 2017; Pizam, 2014).

Peer-to-peer accommodations have grown a lot in recent years, especially because of platforms such as Airbnb and Booking, which offer a very wide range of accommodation to rent, whether houses, apartments, rooms or even more unique and different accommodations (Chen & Chang, 2018; Tussyadiah & Zach, 2017; Young, Corsun, & Xie, 2017). The great feature of this type of accommodation is the fact that the hosts are not only professionals, as seen in hotels or hostels, but also ordinary people who have extra space and want to make it profitable (Hawlitschek, Teubner, &

Weinhardt, 2016; Moon, Miao, Hanks, & Line, 2019; Tussyadiah & Zach, 2017; Yang, Song, Chen,

& Xia, 2017).

2 The main motivation of this study is then to understand how relationship marketing is carried out in peer-to-peer accommodations, since they have characteristics so different from traditional accom- modations (Mittendorf, 2016; Möhlmann, 2015).

1.2. FRAMEWORK AND RELEVANCE OF THE STUDY

Relationship marketing can be described as the creation and development of long-term relationships (Marques, 2014) that create value to customers fomenting trust and reciprocity (Rahimi et al., 2017).

Some of the main constructs related to relationship marketing are satisfaction and consequently, loyalty, based on personalised content to each customer’s needs and desires (Cerro et al., 2010).

Relationship marketing is essential in services due to the interactions with customers and the impact these interactions may have on customers’ satisfaction, and that is why research in tourism, even though not much, has been increasing lately. The customers’ needs and desires are now easier to identify due to the technological development, and that allows a more detailed profile of each cus- tomer to improve the relationship with him/her (Rahimi et al., 2017).

The evolution of the internet also allowed the growth of e-commerce and e-business, and more spe- cifically in tourism, there has been huge changes on the services’ distribution, like the possible ways to rent a room or a car (Bilgihan & Bujisic, 2015). Sharing things and information is now normal in some online social networks such as Facebook, and with that plus the growth of e-business, came a new business model, the sharing economy (Heo, 2016) that can be described as “the peer-to-peer- based activity of obtaining, giving, or sharing the access to goods and services, coordinated through community-based online services” (Hamari, Sjöklint, & Ukkonen, 2016, p. 2049). The sharing econ- omy appeared in the tourism industry in the form of online platforms that allow people to share ac- commodations, cars, as well as tours and meals, with tourists (Heo, 2016; Tussyadiah & Pesonen, 2018). Renting a space that looks like home and has the same amenities, is the main concept of sharing accommodations, plus the fact that many customers value the social interaction with local hosts (Tussyadiah & Pesonen, 2018; Young et al., 2017).

There are several factors that affect the guests’ satisfaction when using peer-to-peer accommoda- tions such as price, location and house amenities (Young et al., 2017), but the most discussed factor is the interaction with local hosts and the sense of belonging in the community (Tussyadiah &

Pesonen, 2018) and that is why hosts play a key role in these interactions (Tussyadiah & Park, 2018).

Many people still do not feel totally confident when it comes to buy products and services online, especially when it includes providing personal information and staying in a stranger’s home (Bratianu, 2017), and that is why trust is a key factor that affects satisfaction and loyalty, and mostly, the buying process. However, trust is not only from guests to hosts, hosts also need to trust in guests, otherwise they would not provide their personal resources, and trust on the platform is also important (Hawlitschek et al., 2016; Mittendorf, 2016).

3 In this sense, the study will focus on the analysis of these variables and their effects on the relation- ship marketing of sharing economy platforms.

1.3. OBJECTIVES AND RESEARCH QUESTION

According to the existent literature, it is possible to understand that previous studies have focused on peer-to-peer sharing accommodation platforms’ guests, what they want, what they are looking for, what satisfies them (Chen & Chang, 2018; Ert, Fleischer, & Magen, 2016; Guttentag, 2015;

Pesonen & Tussyadiah, 2017; Pizam, 2014; Tussyadiah & Zach, 2017; Young et al., 2017). However, there are still few studies that focus on the actions that the hosts present in these platforms to develop relationships with their guests, to make them satisfied and loyal, that is, what are the relationship marketing actions that exist in this type of service.

So, in order to fill this gap on the literature, this study aims to analyse the whole process of interaction of peer-to-peer accommodation’s hosts with their guests, the type of contact that they keep, all the initiatives that they take to satisfy them, how hosts perceive the guests’ reactions to those interactions and how can all of this empower the business. In this sense, the following specific objectives were identified:

• Understand the relationship marketing strategies used by hosts on peer-to-peer accommo- dation platforms and how this is reflected in the trust perceived by guests.

• Understand the interactions between hosts and guests throughout the experience and ways to drive guest satisfaction.

• Identify the differences in relationships depending on the type of business and accommo- dation.

• Understand the role of digital platforms for sharing accommodations in the relationship marketing of this type of business.

• Understand culture or nationality differences on how hosts interact with guests.

1.4. METHODOLOGICAL APPROACH AND DISSERTATION STRUCTURE

The methodology to be used to solve the research question goes through the performance of a qualitative analysis. This is because qualitative analysis is usually used for real personal situations, in order to understand how people interpret situations and experiences that they have lived (Miles &

Huberman, 1994). Thus, as the objective is to interview hosts of peer-to-peer accommodations about their experience with using Airbnb to rent their spaces, 30 semi-structured interviews will then be conducted, thus having the flexibility to adapt the script as the interview progresses, in order to obtain all the necessary information (Blandford, 2013; Kallio, Pietilä, Johnson, & Kangasniemi, 2016).

4 Concerning the dissertation structure, this research will have a first moment to study the existing literature on the subject where the constructs related to the theme will be analysed and the ideas of different authors will be presented. At this stage, the concept of relational marketing will be studied, further exploring the concept for the tourism sector. Then the concept of sharing economy, also known as peer-to-peer, and this concept in tourism and more specifically in peer-to-peer accommo- dations, is introduced. Finally, a conclusion is made that relates relational marketing to the platforms of peer-to-peer accommodations, which is the main theme of this study.

After analysing the existing data, the methodology of this study will be elaborated, which will have a first phase where the research objectives will be identified, followed by the formulation of propositions and definition of the research methods, which will be of a qualitative nature. This phase will also count with the elaboration of a script in order to conduct 30 semi-structured interviews to hosts of Airbnb.

Once the interviews are prepared and carried out, the results obtained will be analysed taking into account the propositions previously elaborated. This will enable a discussion about the study’s topic, and the comparison with the existing literature.

The dissertation will end with the conclusions that were obtained with the study, with the contributions to the current knowledge and the implications that will have for the theory and for management. The limitations encountered in the course of the investigation and the suggestions for further research will also be presented.

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2. LITERATURE REVIEW

This chapter addresses the main concepts associated with the theme of this study. It starts with a general approach to the concept of relationship marketing, followed by the same concept applied specifically to the tourism sector. It continues with the introduction of the concept of sharing economy and how it works in the tourism sector. In relation to this concept, it is also studied its application to touristic accommodations, peer-to-peer accommodations, and the importance of trust and satisfac- tion in this service. Finally, the relationship between the concept of relationship marketing and the peer-to-peer accommodations is presented.

2.1. RELATIONSHIP MARKETING IN TOURISM AND HOSPITALITY

To the American Marketing Association marketing is defined as “the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for cus- tomers, clients, partners, and society at large” (American Marketing Association, 2013), and for the last few years this definition has been focusing on the relational aspect and value creation for cus- tomers.

In this context emerges the concept of relationship marketing, directly associated with the develop- ment of the service sector, that has been defined as a way to create, develop and manage a long- term relationship between the company and its customers in a way that is good and satisfactory for both parties (Grönroos, 2017a; Gummerus et al., 2017; Marques, 2014). In fact, Morgan and Hunt (1994, p. 22) propose that “Relationship marketing refers to all marketing activities directed toward establishing, developing, and maintaining successful relational exchanges.” When a company chooses relationship marketing strategies, the focus is no longer only on the value of the core prod- uct, but also on the value to customers and to the relationship with them. Empathy, reciprocity, trust and commitment are also key elements of the relationships, that are only possible if offered some- thing unique and personalised to customers that lead to their loyalty (Cerro et al., 2010; Gilboa, Seger-Guttmann, & Mimran, 2019; Grönroos, 2017b; Rahimi et al., 2017). Relationship marketing management goes beyond traditional marketing in the sense that all the company's actions are in- terconnected and the marketing process is also composed of everything related to sales, communi- cation or even prices, as well as the core product is the basis of traditional marketing (Grönroos, 2017b) Especially for small businesses, trust and commitment generate loyalty and word-of-mouth (WOM), and through relationship marketing strategies they are able to create loyal relationships with customers and develop their business (Gilboa et al., 2019). Aspects like these, such as the possible profit derived from customer loyalty as well as access to information about customers due to techno- logical developments, make relationship marketing so interesting for companies (Gummerus et al., 2017). In fact, many authors defend that long-term relationships between the company and its cus- tomers are a critical element in marketing success, since the way the company manages customers, taking into account their wishes and needs, can influence the customer's interest in maintaining a relationship with the company, as it will influence their level of satisfaction, and consequently the

6 company’s success (Grönroos, 2017b; Hyun & Perdue, 2017). It is also consensual that relationship marketing presents three specific characteristics: first, the fact that it is a one-to-one relationship between the company and the customer; second, it is a personalised interaction with the customiza- tion of products and services to that specific customer; and third, it means added value through the existence of cooperation and collaboration between all the elements involved in the process (Gilboa et al., 2019; Marques, 2014).

The customer itself is emotional and can be influenced in every moment of the experience, therefore companies need to add value to the interactions with customers. This value means developing ac- tivities that create advantages and cost savings for customers, considering their interests and needs (Marques, 2014). Value can be added through the intrinsic quality, the service, or through customers’

trust in the company and from this, the goal of any service company is to achieve customer satisfac- tion and customer loyalty (El-Adly, 2018; Marques, 2014). Relationship marketing is then a long pro- cess where every customer is considered to be profitable if the correct approach is used (Mahmoud, Kastner, & Lartey, 2017). In this sense, it is important to understand if the promises are being kept, since it is not enough to have a great product if the provision of the service is affected by other aspects such as delays, delivery failures or poor complaints management, that affects the value of the entire process to customers. Therefore, actions and interactions with customers throughout the process can influence the fulfilment of promises, since they are not only developing or maintaining the core product, but also developing the relationship with the customer (Grönroos, 2017b, 2017a).

Relationship marketing results from the practice of two main and essential techniques that comple- ment each other and that are only possible due to customer and market orientation by the company.

On one hand, there is one-to-one marketing which is based on the individualized treatment of cus- tomers with the purpose of selling more to the already existing customers in order to achieve higher profitability for the company, and not just to obtain a greater number of customers. On the other hand, there is the permission marketing that consists in the granting of permission by the customers for the use of their personal data for the promotion of the company’s products that may interest that specific client. Permission marketing is based on personalised content in order to turn strangers into clients through a first contact, and in contrast, one-to-one marketing comes through the first custom- ized purchase. So, when companies use these relationship marketing techniques, they are fostering relationships with customers and creating value for the company (Marques, 2014).

Many authors have studied relationship marketing in recent years and some topics have been given special attention, namely qualitative measures of performance, such as commitment, trust or loyalty, but also at the level of consumer intent and associated costs. This is in the sense of perceiving which factors determine successful relationships, what results come from these relationships and also the role that technologies can have in improving these relationships (Maggon & Chaudhry, 2015).

When a company works to develop the relationship with its customers, it can not only increase profits, but also realize the interests and problems of customers and provide solutions to these issues, thus

7 creating new ideas and innovative products or services. This can only be possible when the company is market-oriented and develops interdependency and cooperation with their customers in order to co-create value and high-quality relationships, through personalised products and experiences (Kandampully, Zhang, & Bilgihan, 2015; Sulhaini & Sulaimiah, 2017). The more the company is will- ing to learn with its customers, the better the relationship, and that can be reflected in the level of communication and empathy, trust, affective commitment and customer satisfaction, which will en- sure the preservation of these relationships (Grönroos, 2017b; Sulhaini & Sulaimiah, 2017). In fact, customer commitment is crucial when talking about relationship marketing, because when a relation- ship is created with affective commitment, it tends to be more stable, because of the opinion which the customers form and identify with (Bilgihan & Bujisic, 2015).

Just like customer satisfaction, the concept of delight is also related to loyalty. Delight is when a person enjoys the experience but had no prior expectations, and represents a momentary emotional feeling of the experience, unlike customer satisfaction, which includes the entire experience over a certain period of time. So, according to previous research, satisfaction has a stronger connection to loyalty (Kim, Vogt, & Knutson, 2015).

Once the company is market-oriented and on the way to identify the sources of value for its custom- ers, gains the ability to develop specific strategies towards customer loyalty. True loyalty cannot simply be bought, it must be earned by the company and it can be developed in four phases. First, it is important that the customer has a good knowledge of the brand or the products in order to be loyal to them. Second, only if the experience is good enough will the customer be interested in looking for the brand again. Third, it is important to develop the relationship, because it is only possible to be loyal to someone or something that you know well. And finally, customers must truly believe in the brand and its products. Since loyalty results from reciprocity and long-lasting relationships, with ad- vantages for both parties and mutual exchanges, when a company manages to gain natural loyalty, which is usually harder to achieve and requires more effort, the company is able to, not only be more effective in achieving the goals it has set for itself, but also to become more profitable (Marques, 2014).

Customer loyalty can be identified as a key success aspect because of the benefits that companies gain from it, and there are several factors that allow companies to win customer loyalty, such as satisfaction, trust or quality, and it is through this combination of factors that a company can gain competitive advantage and market share, since its efforts are directed towards the maintenance of customers and the respective volume of purchase of each of these customers on the long-term (Marques, 2014; Toufaily, Fallu, & Ricard, 2016). In fact, it is consensual among researchers that a loyal customer tends to buy more from the company, is more willing to pay a higher amount for the products or services and, furthermore, he recommends the products and services to relatives and friends and he is also more understanding when something goes wrong (Toufaily et al., 2016).

8 Another important factor to consider is the internet world, where competition is inevitable, and the wide range of available alternatives makes consumer loyalty central, since it is associated with con- sumer buying behaviour and, consequently, with positive WOM, and obviously with relationship mar- keting strategies (Bilgihan & Bujisic, 2015). An online loyal customer is a customer that is willing to revisit the website of the company, even when compared to the available alternatives, and will more easily tend to buy the products or services repeatedly (Toufaily et al., 2016). In this context, being able to develop capabilities and competencies to create a competitive advantage is critical for the companies’ success and can depend mostly on the internal aspects of the company. Even if the critical success factors depend on each company’s characteristics individually, many authors have identified quality, finances and human resources as the critical success factors, like their products and services and the people who work there (Marais, du Plessis, & Saayman, 2017).

Also, with the progress in technologies and mobile devices, it is now easier to identify consumers styles of consumption through online pictures, purchases or reviews, and therefore, to develop ap- propriate strategies to these individual characteristics (Tussyadiah & Zach, 2017). That is why rela- tionship marketing is tied to the use of these new technologies and the possibility of adapting content, products and services to each individual user, which is called technological marketing, by clearly showing how the use of technologies affects the way relationships are established and managed (Marques, 2014). But even though the possibility of internet providing new ways to receive feedback from customers and to try to solve their issues, safety is still a big concern when it comes to technol- ogies and that is why permission marketing is so important to ensure trust and establish firm rela- tionships with customers through constant communication (Mahmoud et al., 2017).

Starting from the idea that the needs of consumers are constantly changing, nowadays they seek online services that are quick and useful, even if that means no personal interaction, which can directly affect the quality of the relationship between the company and the customers, mainly be- cause strong relationships depend on face-to-face interactions and human reactions such as empa- thy to create real connections with the customers (Mahmoud et al., 2017).

Relationship marketing is a concept that can be applied to any industry, and just like many others, tourism is no exception, mainly because of its relational perspective that has been frequently studied lately (Merinero-Rodríguez & Pulido-Fernández, 2016). Even though the existent research in hospi- tality and tourism industry is not very extensive, there has been a lot of changes in this sector, and also in the needs and desires of the customers, and that is reflected in the increase in literature on relationship marketing in tourism (Rahimi et al., 2017).

In fact, tourism managers started to use relationship marketing as a strategic tool to gain competitive advantage and the interest in customers’ trust as a marketing tool was developed because of its benefits since customers’ trust exists when one party relies on the characteristics of a particular product or service of the other part of the commercial exchange (Wang et al., 2014).

9 One of the most important aspect of tourism and hospitality is the service component, especially because this industry is based on service provision where customers interact with the service pro- viders the most when compared to other service sectors (Kandampully et al., 2018). Also, the con- cept of relationships in the tourism industry is described as the interactions and connections between the stakeholders involved in the activities and are considered a key determinant in tourism compa- nies since they enable the satisfaction of customers’ needs (Merinero-Rodríguez & Pulido- Fernández, 2016; Reichstein & Härting, 2018). Besides this, when customers look for service expe- riences, they seek not only to satisfy their fundamental needs, but also to develop social and psy- chological aspects from that experience (Zgolli & Zaiem, 2017).

Due to technological developments, e-commerce and e-tourism have changed the way relationship marketing works in this industry (Rahimi et al., 2017). In general, customers are more informed and look forward to a more personalised experience in every moment of the consumption interaction.

However, specifically in tourism and hospitality, customer experience is not only about the quality of the food or the accommodation, but also about the information delivery, the online and offline inter- actions both with the service providers and other customers and managing this customer experience can be really difficult in this industry (Kandampully et al., 2018). Another aspect that can also influ- ence customer experience is customer-to-customer interactions, once they allow customers to share their ideas and experience with other customers, which can result in customer satisfaction, desire to stay (in the hotel, for instance), and consequently, have a positive effect on customer loyalty inten- tions and behavioural reactions, that can depend on the customer nationality, because cultural dif- ferences can result in different perceptions of the service (Zgolli & Zaiem, 2017). The first step to- wards achieving a satisfactory customer experience is by identifying the consumers’ needs and then being able to respond to those needs (Reichstein & Härting, 2018).

Relationship marketing is directly related to the customer relationship with the focus on the long- term. The point of investing in relationship marketing strategies is to strongly develop the customer relationship, and then, to provide customer financial value to the company, and that is one of the main reasons that companies invest their resources into this. More specifically in the hotel and res- taurant segment, some authors came up with a new scale for customer relationship, which had the purpose of identifying the effects of the strategies applied and their return of investment, with not four, but six dimensions (figure 1): customer engagement, customer motivation, customer retention, customer cross-buying, customer WOM and the last, customer defection (Hyun & Perdue, 2017).

10 Figure 1 - Dimensions of Customer Relationships

Source: Hyun and Perdue (2017)

In the tourism industry, customer perceived value is not only related to the economic value of the experience, like the price of staying in a hotel room, but also related to affective ones, like self- gratification or aesthetic pleasure, and both customer perceived value and consequently customer satisfaction are good predictors of customer loyalty, this means that if guests have a good perspec- tive about the place, then they will be satisfied and become loyal (Kim et al., 2015; Mao & Lyu, 2017).

Customer loyalty, like customer satisfaction is an important factor to companies’ success, and in the hospitality and tourism industry, satisfaction is usually a predictor of intention to revisit or recommend the place or destination to others (Kim et al., 2015). To achieve customer satisfaction in a hotel, the guest needs a good experience with the accommodation, food and beverage, among other services, plus the chance of being away from problems and get to relax during the stay, to make him feel that it was worth the amount spent, since the services matched the needs and expectations (El-Adly, 2018).

In the tourism sector, for a consumer to become loyal and increase his value, he has to go through several stages that demonstrate the evolution of the relationship between the company and the con- sumer (figure 2) (Kandampully et al., 2015).

Figure 2 - Customer Loyalty Pyramid Source: Kandampully et al. (2015)

11 Also related to this, there is the concept of electronic customer relationship management (CRM), that provides a more personalised and detailed information about customers and enables a closer rela- tionship with them. That’s why it is important to adopt relationship marketing strategies to get more loyal customers and to preserve them, through CRM, and also the fact that these strategies have been studied because of the impact on the satisfaction of customers, positive WOM and repurchase intentions (Rahimi et al., 2017; van Asperen, de Rooij, & Dijkmans, 2017).

Data mining is also another way to provide better services in this industry, since it allows a better understanding of the customers’ profiles and consequently to provide a more personalised service.

This implies that companies need to focus on digital applications and communications in order to achieve more customers and satisfy their needs (Reichstein & Härting, 2018).

It can’t be forgotten that customers’ needs are changing and far from what they used to search for, and in the tourism industry these changes have been really significant. Now, customers want the provision of information on the internet and there has been a bigger adoption of digital communication and search for tourist content in a way that is changing the consumption of this kind of products and services. With the access to the information that customers need, they can most likely find precisely what they are searching for, according to their personal needs. So, nowadays the role of tourism companies is to develop a digital contact with customers throughout the buying process in order to create a more personalized interaction and have the ability to influence their decisions (Reichstein &

Härting, 2018).

Platforms like TripAdvisor have been growing in the tourism industry mainly because of the develop- ment of digital marketing and the possibility for customers to share with each other their experiences, and allow people to make a weighted decision, based on the information available, and not only with the information provided by the company (Zgolli & Zaiem, 2017). Both the maintenance of relation- ships and the reviews made available by customers, promote the co-creation process and the devel- opment of business (Casais, Fernandes, & Sarmento, 2020).

2.2. THE INTERNET AND THE SHARING ECONOMY CONCEPT

The internet, besides the fact that it is one of the best communication channels, it also represents a technological breakthrough that facilitates the performance and attractiveness of several business and allows for interactive relationships between business and customers (Zekanović-Korona &

Grzunov, 2014).

By becoming the biggest and newest global market, internet had influence on the changes of needs and desires of consumers (Zekanović-Korona & Grzunov, 2014), and with that the purchase process is changing with people searching both online and offline to gather information, going to physical stores and comparing several products and their prices before finding the option that suits them the most (Bebber, Milan, De Toni, Eberle, & Slongo, 2017).

12 Specifically, in the tourism sector, the internet brought people closer to destinations and made it easier for people to organise their trip and participate on the planning process. But more important, internet found new ways to create value for consumers and to ensure that their needs are met (Zekanović-Korona & Grzunov, 2014). However, it is necessary to take into account that competition in the tourism sector has also increased, thus also increasing the diversity of the existing offer and hotels have felt a greater need to stand out (Chen & Chen, 2014).

Related to the internet is digital economy (Zekanović-Korona & Grzunov, 2014), because this growth of the internet allowed a rise in the e-commerce and distribution of several services, more concretely in tourism with hotel rooms reservations, flight or car rental via online, and this brought a lot of ad- vantages to both parties (Bilgihan & Bujisic, 2015). However, there are still a lot of risks perceived by customers about electronic business and purchases, like the provision of personal information or buying a product not matching the website description. So, it is important for businesses to make sure that the information on the website matches the reality and that all the information about ex- changes and returning are very clear and easy to access (Bebber et al., 2017).

Technological developments allowed access to various information systems on the internet, and thus the sharing economy concept arose as consequence of the greater ease of sharing both tangible and intangible goods and services through online platforms (Hamari et al., 2016). Precisely, this phenomenon is considered a way for people to share, redistribute, rent, exchange or donate goods and services with the internet and digital platforms as the main support. Besides sharing and helping each other through goods and services, this kind of activities also allows people to save money and develops a society more collaborative and sustainable (Hamari et al., 2016; Heinrichs, 2013).

One of the most used definitions of sharing economy describes it as “the peer-to-peer-based activity of obtaining, giving, or sharing the access to goods and services, coordinated through community- based online services” (Hamari et al., 2016, p. 2049). This definition can be complemented with the one from Heinrichs (2013, p. 229) whereas “the concept involves individuals exchanging, redistrib- uting, renting, sharing, and donating information, goods, and talent, either organising themselves, or via commercial organisation by social media platforms”.

This concept emerged as a new way of looking at business due to the determining role of online platforms in the execution of the business, as well as in connecting people (Bratianu, 2017), and actually, for the last few years, people have increasingly adopted transportation sharing services or booked accommodation, and because of that, collaborative consumption is no longer a niche market, but rather a business model that is able to compete with the traditional services and change the consumer behaviour (Liang, Choi, & Joppe, 2018a; Möhlmann, 2015).

The development and maintenance of online peer-to-peer platforms is only possible due to techno- logical evolution, and this allows the connection between people interested in using these sharing platforms (Tussyadiah & Pesonen, 2018). These online sharing platforms, since they have always a

13 profit-base, allow people to receive some money from personal goods and services that were no longer in use (Heo, 2016).

In the sharing economy context, the transaction can involve tangible goods, like cars, or can be intangible in the form of service provision, like human knowledge (Yang et al., 2017), and there are two types of sharing economy, one form is business-to-consumer (B2C), such as commercial car sharing, and the other is consumer-to-consumer (C2C), through the online platforms from individuals to individuals (Möhlmann, 2015). For some authors, peer-to-peer business is a business-to-con- sumer interaction and has been growing in tourism and hospitality sector, however, this is not con- sensual, because nowadays peer-to-peer platforms include not only companies but also individuals exchanging goods and services, with Airbnb as the major example of that (Hawlitschek et al., 2016;

Moon et al., 2019). Actually, according to this, in peer-to-peer platforms, different from the other traditional services, has been a change in the business model in a way that the service providers are not only professionals or trained to create the relationships with the customers and to sell the ser- vices, and work mostly based on mutual agreement and trust to perform the transaction of the ser- vice, but that can sometimes represent challenges to the service providers (Hawlitschek et al., 2016;

Tussyadiah & Zach, 2017; Yang et al., 2017). In this context, the service providers usually use their own personal resources to present the services to customers, and the relationship between them is a result of multiple interactions (Yang et al., 2017), and with the rise of the internet, it became more accessible for people to create these online platforms without much expense (Möhlmann, 2015).

The e-commerce concept, just like the e-business, has been studied for the last few years related to the technological evolution, however, that research cannot be applied to the sharing economy con- cept, since they have two different business models, mainly because of permanence or not of the property with the buyer, and the need for interaction between both parties (Mittendorf, 2016), spe- cially because activities where there is no remuneration or where there are permanent exchanges of ownership, are not considered sharing activities (Möhlmann, 2015).

The business model of sharing economy was created to satisfy a market segment that was not met with the traditional options and, this way, the platforms are able to connect people with extra space to provide to others (Tussyadiah, 2016). This is because, consumers in general have different be- haviours, characteristics and needs, and the same applies to the consumers in sharing economy services, because the reasons that lead one person to use peer-to-peer services can be different from the reasons of another person (Pesonen & Tussyadiah, 2017). The sharing economy concept is usually related to disruptive innovations, which are products that can be cheaper, smaller, more convenient and/or simpler than the ones from the competition that already exists in the market, and this way they provide a different value proposition to customers from the traditional products and attract other kind of customers (Guttentag & Smith, 2017).

Sharing economy can be described in many words and efficiency is one of them, since people can find a better and new use to their products, and with that there is less need to invest in new products,

14 which means cost-savings (Pesonen & Tussyadiah, 2017). Some studies even suggest that most people do not use sharing economy services just to share things, but because they want the benefits that come with it (Pesonen & Tussyadiah, 2017).

Services available online, like YouTube and Facebook, that focus on user-generated content and on sharing things and information with each other are the basis of the sharing economy concept and now it has become one of the most used business models in the tourism and hospitality industry (Heo, 2016).

Many authors have been studying the determinant factors that lead customers to acquire peer-to- peer services, but it is also important to understand the meaning of purchase intention, that can be described as the customers disposal to buy the product or service and the chances of effectively buying that product or service (Bebber et al., 2017). One major factor in collaborative consumption is the economic benefits that come from it, like saving money or easier access to the resources, since they make a direct exchange and turn this process into a more individual reason to participate, and at the same time decreasing existing surpluses (Chen & Chang, 2018; Hamari et al., 2016). As this concept has gained in size especially through social networks since the feedback is available to anyone, and created economic benefits for users, has also enabled faster business growth (Chen &

Chang, 2018).

Related to these factors is the interest of peer-to-peer service’s users in creating relationships which are fostered between customers and service providers and the commitment to these relationships can be more emotional and related to social benefits, than related to safety ones, and that leads to loyalty (Yang et al., 2017). Connected to emotional and social benefits, has been found a new type of relational benefits specifically to sharing economy services and are called safety benefits. Safety benefits can be described as the sense of security and relief perceived by customers about the ser- vice providers, through other words, it is about not worrying about negative situations. These safety benefits are directly related to customers’ commitment and indirectly related to loyalty, since sharing economy has in its basis the trust construct (Yang et al., 2017).

2.3. PEER-TO-PEER ACCOMMODATIONS

If the hotel industry was facing the consequences of the emergence of online travel agencies, now the sharing economy has brought another concept to the tourism and hospitality sector, the online peer-to-peer accommodations (Tussyadiah & Zach, 2017; Young et al., 2017). This collaborative consumption has begun to be present in more and more industries, and since it started to influence consumer behaviour, is was also expected to affect tourism on a large scale (Pesonen & Tussyadiah, 2017). Actually, some authors believe that tourism is the sector most affected by the sharing econ- omy, because people now share not only accommodations with tourists, but also cars, tours and even meals (Heo, 2016). Due to that increased demand and power associated with collaborative

15 consumption, as well as the continued emergence of new markets, it has also affected tourism struc- tures and experiences, since almost everything in tourism and hospitality is shareable (Tussyadiah

& Sigala, 2018).

Concretely in this industry, companies responsible for this type of sharing platforms encourage peo- ple to share with each other the extra space they have, whether is in accommodation or in transpor- tation, like Airbnb or Uber (Tussyadiah & Pesonen, 2018), and that is called disruptive innovation, because these companies have changed the tourism accommodation market by allowing individuals to perform the services through an online platform (Guttentag, 2015).

Usually, in tourism, when people need to rent a room, they find a wide variety of options, from hotels and hostels, to free accommodations like Couchsurfing or a place of a friend or a relative, and tourists look exactly for that variety, choosing the one option that meet their needs, according to some spe- cific selection factors (Pesonen & Tussyadiah, 2017). The peer-to-peer accommodations, more spe- cifically, are pretty similar to the traditional way to rent rooms, the only big difference is the usage of the online platform, usually a website, that bring people together. The transaction related to this concept of sharing economy in tourism, as previously mentioned, doesn’t need to be only about accommodations, it also applies to car rentals or other products and services related to the tourism industry (Pizam, 2014). Just like the C2C sharing services, the new way to practice peer-to-peer in accommodation services, instead of using regular companies to rent the spaces, is about individuals providing unoccupied rooms and houses to other people, like Airbnb, and since these services are different from the ones provided by hotels, the expectations of customers are also different, and that is why this type of services keeps growing (Liang, Choi, & Joppe, 2018b; Lutz & Newlands, 2018;

Tussyadiah, 2016; Tussyadiah & Zach, 2017). Even though peer-to-peer accommodation is pretty similar to hotels and B&Bs (Bed & Breakfast) in the main service of renting a room, peer-to-peer accommodation have been characterised by its low standards related to the lower prices than regular hotels, and that is why it is so important to understand what attracts guests to these accommodations and what they value when using the services (Chen & Chang, 2018; Tussyadiah & Zach, 2017; Wu

& Cheng, 2018).

Peer-to-peer accommodations do not have the same services that traditional hotels provide, how- ever, it fulfils precisely the needs of a few niche markets, since they may not want to pay for the conventional hotel services and be more interested in paying for a room in a house where they can also use the other parts of the house, and have a more personal experience with authentic interac- tions with locals (Young et al., 2017).

Being services characterised by their intangibility, it is impossible to verify the quality of the service, and in sharing peer-to-peer accommodation platforms, the first interaction that leads to the acquisi- tion of the service is performed online, but is usually followed by a second personal contact for the provision of the service. In this provision of the service, the hosts attributes are crucial to the satis- faction of the guests (Ert et al., 2016). Accordingly, peer-to-peer accommodation services work the

16 relationships between guests and hosts to provide them unique experiences, and to enable tourists to visit the city through the local perspective and it is these interactions that differ peer-to-peer ser- vices from the rest of the existing alternatives (Pesonen & Tussyadiah, 2017).

Two drivers to consumption have been identified in peer-to-peer accommodation. The economic appeal, that is related to young travellers that want to save money and will probably use this service again, making this factor a determinant in the sharing economy concept. And the social appeal, re- lated to the social relationship and sense of belonging in the community, connected with the interac- tions with local hosts (Tussyadiah & Pesonen, 2018). Just like it happens in the hotel industry, in peer-to-peer accommodation, human interactions are an important attribute to guests, however, once peer-to-peer accommodation involves a more closer interaction, social interactions have been iden- tified as the main point of sharing practices (Tussyadiah & Zach, 2017). Studies also point out that most guests in peer-to-peer accommodations are leisure travellers, and that business travellers still tend to use more hotel services. This information is important in order to understand the main factors that influence their choice for sharing services, such as the price, the location of the place, the access to house amenities, as well as customer reviews, among other factors (Young et al., 2017).

A recent study shows that there are two types of peer-to-peer accommodation users. The first type only uses the services because of the convenience of the location and the practiced prices. And the second one really likes the concept of sharing accommodation, particularly the interactions between guests and hosts, both online and in person. These second type cares about the social aspects and is more willingly to use peer-to-peer services again, because it is generally satisfied with the service (Pesonen & Tussyadiah, 2017). This type of users is important to this study, because for them the interaction itself with hosts can be more important than the rented space. The culture of each part also plays an important role in the interaction between guests and hosts, and consequently in cus- tomer experience. Some authors believe that the novelty of the culture can be a driver or a barrier to guests in peer-to-peer services, but this topic still needs further research (Muñoz-Leiva, Mayo- Muñoz, & De la Hoz-Correa, 2018; Pesonen & Tussyadiah, 2017).

Also in the sense of better understanding the type of users of peer-to-peer accommodations Lutz and Newlands (2018) carried out a study in which they compared users according to the type of accommodation selected, essentially dividing them into shared rooms and the entire house. They concluded that people who travel alone, with friends or families have a greater tendency to rent shared rooms, probably among themselves and not with strangers, unless the goal is to interact with other users. Entire houses are usually reserved for people with greater economic power, families traveling with children, or couples. The desired level of interaction also influences your choices, as people looking for less interaction tend to rent entire houses, while people who want more interaction tend to rent shared rooms or a room in a shared house. At the gender level, women tend to book fewer shared rooms than men. When it comes to complete houses, it is the hosts themselves who try to keep interactions to a minimum, unless it is really necessary.

17 2.4. SATISFACTION AND TRUST IN PEER-TO-PEER ACCOMMODATIONS

Since the collaborative consumption business model is important to the tourism and hospitality in- dustry, it is also important to understand which factors affect the users’ motivations to use peer-to- peer accommodation (Tussyadiah & Pesonen, 2018).

There are several benefits and risks related to this type of business. Specifically, in peer-to-peer accommodations, the benefits to the owners/hosts, are essentially the financial return and getting in touch with people from all around the world (Pizam, 2014). Besides that, one of the main benefits to guests of services like Airbnb’s accommodations is that it provides the sense of being in their homes, and also the fact that these accommodations are usually less expensive than hotels (Guttentag, 2015). But, even though peer-to-peer accommodation services are usually related to low-cost pric- ings, they also attract people with high purchasing power (Tussyadiah & Pesonen, 2018). These accommodations also provide a different experience from hotels in a way that they can offer extra benefits that can be useful to a lot of tourists, like the access to the kitchen and personal suggestions and information from hosts about local places to visit or not (Guttentag, 2015; Pizam, 2014). How- ever, hosts also have perceived risks like damage in their properties or inadequate behaviour by guests. To renters/guests, risks are basically about not having the accommodations they were prom- ised to have on the website or the reality not matching the information on the reviews, and as well as the possibility of not having a very hospitable host (Pizam, 2014).

Associated to these risks, many authors, like Bratianu (2017), talk about this issue of trust, because it can be really difficult for the owners to let go of their own privacy and transform something personal like their houses into an economic business, and also for renters to trust someone they have never met and stay in their homes. However, especially in quantitative studies, until recently, research did not consider trust as a determinant of the sharing economy (Möhlmann, 2015). But the guests’

choice and decision to use the peer-to-peer accommodation service can be influenced by the trust they have in hosts, and by the trust in the platform and that is why trust can be so important (Tussyadiah & Park, 2018).

Many factors can affect guests’ satisfaction and the post-purchase opinion of the service, and that can be confirmed through their loyalty to the brand or their intention to spread positive comments (word-of-mouth) to other people (Tussyadiah & Zach, 2017). By finding out the factors that make guests satisfied and to use the peer-to-peer services, this enables hosts to understand the guests needs and to figure out the best way to achieve them (Tussyadiah, 2016). Related to this, recent research has been identifying significant variables for guests, like cost-savings, and social motiva- tions (Tussyadiah & Pesonen, 2018), cost-savings, familiarity, trust and utility (Möhlmann, 2015), enjoyment, amenities and cost-savings (Tussyadiah, 2016), or service, facility, location, feeling wel- come and the comfort of a home, and these attributes are critical to understand the guests’ needs and to satisfy them. When analysing the attributes that make guests satisfied, it is confirmed the social appeal present in the interactions between guests and hosts, because of the importance given

18 to the attribute welcome in their homes and the link with satisfaction and positive WOM (Tussyadiah

& Zach, 2017).

In relation to the barriers, there are four factors currently identified, that if not well applied can neg- atively influence guests, and those are efficacy and ability to use the platform, the necessary trust for the relationship between strangers through the online platform, as well as the lack of cost-sav- ings, because these services are not always that cheap when compared to the competition (Tussyadiah & Pesonen, 2018).

Rational determinants such as utility, cost savings, and familiarity are considered crucial to this type of services, but trust is a variable that can present itself in the service as a competitive advantage, if well used, or signify a weakness in relation to traditional services, when it’s not well applied (Möhlmann, 2015). Trust is so important, because it can be described as the beliefs that customers have about a company and are usually related to their intention to use the company’s products or services (Bilgihan & Bujisic, 2015). Besides that, trust is one of the most important constructs when it comes to customer satisfaction. If companies can develop strong and positive relationships with the customers, by making them trust the companies, they will feel satisfied and consequently have a positive future behaviour intention and will present a good online communication and recommen- dation to other customers, such as positive WOM, and that is important in a context where people may not have a personal contact (Barreda, Bilgihan, & Kageyama, 2015).

The issues of trust are mostly focused on guests’ trust on hosts, but the opposite is also true, be- cause most studies approach to the concept of trust in the guests perspective, however, is also necessary for the supplier (host) to have enough trust on peer-to-peer service since he provides the required resources that are personal (Hawlitschek et al., 2016). However, the trust in the platforms is also important, and that is why Mittendorf (2016) considers necessary to understand more all the implications of trust in peer-to-peer context. It is true that guests trusting in hosts is essential to the success of sharing peer-to-peer platforms, and hosts play a key role in ensuring that trust. However, unlike traditional hospitality business in which marketing strategies are used to attract people’s trust, it is really difficult to figure out if on sharing accommodation services, hosts use strategies of self- promotion to other users (Tussyadiah & Park, 2018).

Trust and affective commitment lead to loyalty and the characteristics of platforms such as reliability, effectiveness, functionality and practicability, are some of the several features considered important to create affective commitment, trust and, consequently, loyalty in customers (Bilgihan & Bujisic, 2015). The “false sense of security” from the user on the platform and on companies, as Airbnb, thus represents an issue of trust, because users have the idea that the platforms have more respon- sibility on the service provision, than they actually have, and users tend to feel misled (Phua, 2018).

This trust between hosts and guests can, among other things, be reflected by the reviews that can be found on the platform (Guttentag, 2015). Also, the profiles and how the information is placed on

19 the platform, as well as the online reputations, are the other aspects that influence trust and inter- action between guests and hosts in peer-to-peer accommodations (Moon et al., 2019).

In addition to all the information provided by the platform, there are other issues besides trust that are necessary to take into consideration when talking about peer-to-peer accommodations, such as online and offline interactions and self-disclosure between guests and hosts, that are crucial to their relationship development and consequently, for their proximity, trust and future behaviour (Moon et al., 2019). A way to make the online interaction more personal between guests and hosts is by using photos in the hosts profiles, since it can make guests more satisfied and secure, and influence their intention to buy the service, but there are still no certainties if the hosts are aware of the impact that the personal photos may have on guests’ trust, since they have been focused on the properties photos and not on the profile photos (Ert et al., 2016). Besides that, through the online personal profile, hosts can present to guests the information about themselves that they consider important to influence the guest choice (Tussyadiah & Park, 2018). This is because unlike hotels, in peer-to- peer accommodations, each host has its own personal characteristics as well as each accommoda- tion, and all these factors can strongly influence the choice of accommodation by the guest. The importance of these aspects meets the definition of marketer-generated content (MGC), which is characterized by "content produced by marketers and sellers to introduce and promote their goods and to engage consumer activity on official websites or third-party platforms." (Liang, Schuckert, Law, & Chen, 2020, p.2), in the sense that in peer-to-peer accommodations, hosts need to make an extra effort to make all the information they make available on the platform very clear, and with the existing user-generated content in the form of other users' reviews, in order to allow the guests to make a more conscious decision (Liang et al., 2020). However, even though it is important for them to emphasize their characteristics and positive attributes, it is even more important that these attrib- utes correspond as closely as possible to reality in order to maintain their authenticity. Also, the way that hosts interact with guests through the platform, can affect the expectations and degree of trust held by the guests before the face-to-face contact (Tussyadiah & Park, 2018). That is why existent research shows that it is important to have accessible tools, so hosts can present themselves and their service the best way possible, according to guests needs (Tussyadiah & Zach, 2017).

Online social networks also have a great impact in the hospitality and tourism industry, since it is a way for people to share with each other their experience and opinion about the places they have been to and can be seen as a way for customers to reduce the perceived risk before buying the product or service (Barreda et al., 2015). By providing their experience to other people, customers are creating WOM, that is believed to be related with credibility and trust, and is one of the most used marketing strategies in online social networks because of the impact it can have on potential users and companies, since it is a way to create a C2C interaction to share and receive opinions.

Customer satisfaction has obviously a positive effect on WOM and future behaviour intentions (Barreda et al., 2015). WOM may be presented in the form of online reviews as one of the most