Airbnb and Covid-19. The role of professional actors in the tourism market for Southern European Capitals

In the last years the tourist hospitality sector faced substantial changes due to the digital revolution carried on by platforms such as Airbnb. In almost a decade Airbnb consolidated its position as a principal channel in the short-term rental market. Over this period, it faced a series of internal changes regarding the composition of the hosts. Property managers, real estate firms, and tourism hospitality professionals used Airbnb as a preferential channel to their business establishing a professional offer within the platform. This dynamic highly disadvantaged smallest and non-professional hosts. This article analyzes the category of professional host highlighting how, even during the first year of the Covid-19 pandemic (2020), they had maintained their leading position experiencing the best performances.

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