My bad for wanting to try something unique: sources of value co-destruction in the Airbnb context

The present study explores the antecedents of value co-destruction–in the sharing economy context, specifically with respect to Airbnb. The study focuses on negative reviews from Airbnb customers, which were typed in English and posted online. The research employed five keywords, ‘bad’, ‘awful’, ‘poor’, ‘terrible’, and ‘horrible’, to capture the online narratives linked to customers’ negative experiences with Airbnb. Out of the 2,733 online reviews screened, the study focused on 694 negative reviews. The data analysis followed the grounded theory approach, resulting in two distinct themes reflecting the antecedents of value co-destruction: the bad behaviour of Airbnb hosts and the company's poor customer service. These findings contrast with previously studies, which have indicated Airbnb's remarkable customer satisfaction levels as evidenced by positive user reviews. The managerial implications of the present study's results indicate that Airbnb should clearly invest additional resources to minimize the negative experiences of its customers; by clearly defining the hosts’ tasks and responsibilities. In addition, when customers report their dissatisfaction, their concerns should be addressed promptly and effectively through good customer service

Towards a better understanding of interactive value formation : three value outcomes perspective

The present study utilized netnography to explore specific value dimension(s) that generate three types of value outcomes as a result of interactive value formation (IVF)–value co-creation, value co-destruction and value no-creation–in a tourism accommodation services context. Customer-generated content on TripAdvisor was analyzed. The keywords ‘good’, ‘positive’, ‘excellent’, ‘great’ and ‘nice’ were used to capture visitors’ online narratives linked to the value co-creation outcome of IVF. The following negative emotional words denoted the value co-destruction outcomes of IVF: ‘bad’, ‘negative’, ‘worst’, ‘terrible’ and ‘poor’. The keywords ‘ok’, ‘average’, ‘standard’, ‘decent’ and ‘not good not bad’ were linked to value no-creation. Out of the 1,138 online reviews screened, the study focused on 263 reviews linked to 6 different hotels in Vaasa, Finland. A grounded theory approach was used to analyse the data. The findings were based on only one value dimension that resulted in all three types of value outcomes: hotel breakfast. We suggest that future studies on value should also incorporate the value no-creation dimension for a holistic and realistic understanding of the concept

Tharu community's perception on climate changes and their adaptive initiations to withstand its impacts in Western Terai of Nepal

This paper brings out perceptions and observations of Tharu communities (Rana and Chaudhary), inhabitants of Shakarpur VDC of Kanchanpur and Gadariya VDCs of Kailali on climate change and its impacts on their livelihood strategies over the years. In addition, the paper explores some initiatives taken by the local communities to minimize its effects and impacts. Focus Group Discussions (FGD) were organized to collect and analyze vulnerability contexts on climate change and its impact on various sectors like, agriculture, forest, livestock, biodiversity, infrastructure, human casualties and water sources. Similarly, information on available service providers and their contribution was garnered through secondary sources. Local communities are facing these changes over the time and adapting strategies as per their own traditional knowledge, skills and information. Most of these strategies are biodiversity friendly, economically viable and socially acceptable. However, these innovative steps should be shared for larger scale dissemination after validating with scientific review and justifications

Connections Between Culinary Tourism Experiences and Memory

Tourism researchers have identified many factors leading to memorable food tourism (culinary tourism) experiences. This research proposes reasons why food experiences while traveling are especially memorable and proposes avenues for future research on food and memory. The act of travel in addition to the act of eating/drinking and individual attitudes and emotions likely work together to create memories. Travelers agreed with many reasons why food travel experiences are connected with memory. These include sensory connections, emotional connections, social and interpersonal connections, novelty and experimental connections, focus and attention, and reflective connections. These connections may also relate to pretrip expectations. Travelers who identified themselves as motivated to travel for food and drink felt more strongly than other travelers about the reasons that food and drink travel experiences were connected with memory. Suggestions are included for researchers to advance understanding of memorable food tourism experiences

Motivational, emotional and memorable dimensions of non-Muslim tourists’ halal food experiences

Purpose: This study aims to explore non-Muslim tourists’ general halal food preferences, motivations for tasting halal food during their recent trips, positive and negative emotions and memorable dimensions associated with their recent halal food experiences after returning from holiday. Design/methodology/approach: Data were collected using the authors’ personal networks and Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk) using a questionnaire. An email containing a link to the questionnaire was sent to the authors’ personal networks and posted on MTurk in January 2021. Findings: Of the 311 non-Muslim respondents, more than half considered themselves as food neophiliacs and considered halal food experiences as imperative whilst travelling. However, tasting halal food was not a major travel motivation. Novelty and taste were the two main motivations for tasting halal food whilst at a tourism destination. Emotions elicited by halal food experiences focussed on “joy” and “love”. The proposed conceptual framework for memorable halal food experiences comprises several dimensions: taste, spending time with family and friends, novelty, quality and safety, hospitality, ambience (setting/servicescape) and experiencing others’ culture through food. Originality/value: This is one of the first studies to explore non-Muslim tourists’ motives, emotions and memorable dimensions of halal food experiences

Exploring Guests’ Satisfaction and Dissatisfaction with Homestay Experiences: A Netnographic Study of a Rural Tourism Destination in Vietnam

Few studies have used online reviews to gain useful insights into homestay guests’ satisfaction. This study responds to demands from the existing literature on homestay tourism in a rural destination context to identify the factors that contribute to tourists’ satisfaction and dissatisfaction by examining homestay experiences in Vietnam’s Ben Tre province. User-generated content on Booking.com was analyzed using a netnographic approach. The data comprised 656 online posts. The findings suggest that guests achieve satisfaction from host families’ attitudes and language abilities, high-quality facilities in the bedrooms and grounds, authentic cuisine, a peaceful location, the availability of complementary services, and affordable prices. The findings contradict studies suggesting that homestay guests may seek familiarity, and this was largely not evident in terms of tourist food consumption while at the destination. In addition, the findings challenge studies indicating that prices have a strong influence on tourists’ satisfaction with homestay tourism

Promoting gender equality, social inclusion and biodiversity conservation in Nepal’s home gardens

Bioversity International, the Nepalese LI-BIRD NGO and the Swiss Agency for Development Cooperation led a project from 2002-2012 in Nepal's mid-hills and Terai to promote technologies, approaches and methods for sustainable on-farm management of plant genetic resources and improve food security through the use of home gardens. The Home Gardens project was a successful example of increasing production, consumption and income of the rural poor, and has made an important contribution to strengthening the capacities of farmers and promoting more equitable gender relations

Tourism experiences, memorability and behavioural intentions : a study of tourists in Sardinia, Italy

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to test Kim et al.’s (2012) seven-dimension memorable tourism experience (MTE) scale in a new context and with a new sample. In addition, the study aims to test for causes or relationships between satisfaction, MTE dimensions, co-creative tourism experiences and memorability, as well as the mediating effect of memorability on tourists’ behavioural intention. Design/methodology/approach: This study uses a cross-sectional survey design using a questionnaire to collect data. Three trained interviewers questioned international travellers in the boarding area in Olbia-Costa Smeralda Airport while they were waiting to board their flights home. The interviewers also distributed and administered the questionnaires. The questionnaire was in English. Data collection was carried out from August to October 2017. Findings: In terms of the theoretical implications of this study, its findings result in a different MTE construct than that of Kim et al.’s (2012) study. Although they discuss seven important experiential tourism factors that are likely to affect the memorability of a person’s experience, what emerges from the present research is that satisfaction, novelty, refreshment, involvement and knowledge significantly influence the memorability of a tourist’s experience. Research limitations/implications: This study has some limitations. First, it is highly site-specific and based on a convenience sample, rendering the findings non-generalizable to either the destination under investigation or any other tourism destination. Further studies should be conducted in other Mediterranean cities to generalise the significance of these findings. Although English can be considered the primary international language, the fact that the survey has been written only in English could have excluded non-English speakers from participating in the study. In addition, the study has not considered national domestic tourists. In the future, translating the survey into different languages and interviewing domestic tourists visiting the island might be useful. Practical implications: Tourism service providers could gather feedback forms from tourists to measure and improve their satisfaction. Additionally, the multiplicity of actors involved in the tourism sector should coordinate and cooperate with one another to create tourism experiences that result in high overall visitor satisfaction. Tourism service providers could also offer new and diverse encounters, for example, the chance to attend local festivals to arouse curiosity, as studies suggest that such novel activities make the experiences particularly memorable. Public officials should also focus on site rejuvenation to appeal to novelty seekers who have visited previously. Originality/value: Overall, the study highlights the discrepancies in the effects of satisfaction, MTE dimensions and co-creative tourism experience on the memorability of a trip experience in relation to previous studies. The results of the analysis refute the assumption that the seven MTE dimensions are representative across a variety of destination-specific tourist experiences. Besides the identified five dimensions, opening up the discussion on other factors that might influence the memorability of tourists’ experiences presents an updated agenda

Determinants of the continuance intention of Airbnb users : consumption values, co-creation, information overload and satisfaction

Purpose: This study aims to examine the relationships among the dimensions of consumption values (functional, social and emotional), co-creation, information overload, satisfaction and continuance intention derived from the use of the Airbnb platform. Design/methodology/approach: A Web-based survey was conducted among Italians, and a valid sample of 259 persons was obtained for data analysis. Findings: The survey results indicated that only functional value and social value are strong predictors of satisfaction in the use of the Airbnb website for accommodation booking. Co-creation and absence of information overload also contribute to satisfaction with using the Airbnb website for accommodation booking, which in turn affects continuance intention. Research limitations/implications: The findings of this study are highly destination-specific, given that the authors collected the data only from Italian residents. The sample was based on a snowball sampling technique; thus, the study findings could be misrepresented because of sampling selection bias. Moreover, the study was limited to the use of three dimensions of consumption values, co-creation, information overload and satisfaction to predict continuance intention. Furthermore, the present study adopted a Web-based survey questionnaire. Practical implications: Managerial implications include recommendations for hosts to emphasise their prices when listing accommodations on the Airbnb website and to focus on active interaction with potential guests. Information on the website should also be organised to avoid information overload. Originality/value: This study allows a deeper understanding of users’ continuance intention with regards to the Airbnb website by exploring the possible determinants