Assessing Airbnb as a disruptive innovation relative to hotels: Substitution and comparative performance expectations

Airbnb often is discussed in terms of its present or future impacts on hotels. The purpose of this research was to investigate such impacts by determining the extent to which Airbnb is used as a hotel substitute and by examining how Airbnb guests expect their accommodations to perform relative to hotels. Together, these analyses were intended to provide empirical insight into Airbnb’s status as a disruptive innovation. The study involved an online survey of over 800 tourists who had used Airbnb within the previous year. About two-thirds had used Airbnb as a hotel substitute. When considering traditional hotel attributes (e.g., cleanliness and comfort), Airbnb was generally expected to outperform budget hotels/motels, underperform upscale hotels, and have mixed outcomes versus mid-range hotels, signalling some – but not complete – consistency with the concept of disruptive innovation. The findings have important practical and theoretical implications

Why tourists choose Airbnb: A motivation-based segmentation study underpinned by innovation concepts

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The VFR Hosting Activity of Immigrant and Canadian-Born Residents

The VFR Hosting Activity of Immigrant and Canadian-Born Residents Abstract This study compares the activity of immigrant and non-immigrant residents who host visiting friends and relatives (VFR). A survey of 2201 residents of the Greater Toronto Region asked about recent and general hosting behavior. Findings show that immigrant hosts are more likely to have hosted in previous three years. Further, immigrants who arrived most recently tended to have hosted higher proportions of non-Canadian and first time visitors. In addition, this same group were most likely to take vacation days in the last twelve months in order to host, and also took the most time to spend with their guests. This corresponded with a relatively high activity rate visiting local attractions with their guests. Implications for practitioners revolve around engaging (recent) immigrants as influencers and consumers of tourism in their communities

Gambling by Ontario Casino Employees: Gambling Behaviours, Problem Gambling, and Impacts of the Employment

This study investigated various aspects of the gambling engaged in by Ontario casino employees. Five casinos participated in the study, which involved a survey sample of 934 employees and an interview sample of 21 employees. The study found that the casino employees exhibited rates of problem gambling that were over three times greater than rates that past studies have found in Ontario’s general population. The employees’ problem gambling was primarily explained by employees who increased their gambling after beginning their jobs and employees who were attracted to their jobs because of prior gambling involvement, although neither of these characteristics was especially common overall. The increases and decreases in gambling that some employees experienced after beginning their jobs were precipitated by a variety of workplace influences associated with the employees’ exposure to gambling; their exposure to patrons; their exposure to the casino work environment; and the existence of training, regulations, and resources. The prevalence of problem gambling and other behavioural gambling patterns also were found to relate to numerous employment variables, such as department and shift. Based on all of these results, various policy recommendations and suggestions for future research are provided

Virtual Reality and Implications for Destination Marketing

Virtual Reality and Implications for Destination Marketing Abstract This study considers the impact of Virtual Reality (VR) in affecting destination image. Three groups viewed related promotional content on South Africa as either a website, a 2D Video, or an immersive VR video using a head mounted display. Participants were asked questions relating to destination image and advertisement effectiveness. Results show that VR positively impacted affective destination image, as well as most items within conative destination image and advertisement effectiveness. Practitioners should consider using VR to visually promote their destinations and experiences, as participants did generally feel more positive emotions towards the destination, and were more likely to share their experiences about the destination and the advertisement itself with friends and relatives

A virtual reality and retailing literature review: Current focus, underlying themes and future directions

This literature review reveals the current research focus, underlying themes and prominent research gaps in the Virtual Reality (VR) literature. 89 journal articles from the 22 years are thematically analysed in order to non-obvious reveal interconnections and themes, including research focus over time and underlying themes by research discipline. Over half of all papers focus on the need to understand the VR shopping consumer, yet no consensus exists as to what the optimal experience is or how to design effective v-Commerce stores. The most prominent research gaps are related to the unique HCI aspects in v-Commerce that influence shopping behaviours. The impact of this review is establishing the current challenges and future directions for academia in order to make v-Commerce a viable reality. Specifically, future research should focus on develop human factor theory in VR shop design (i.e. social dimension, eye-tracking etc.)

Identifying active resident hosts of VFR visitors

Substantial tourism activity can be attributed to Visiting Friends and Relatives (VFR) travel. However, the identification and classification of hosts who are most active, participating in touristic attractions and culture, has received limited attention. This study surveyed residents of Toronto, Canada, and segmented them depending on their own activity while hosting. Findings show that highly active hosts are more likely to be immigrants, to be entertaining large groups of both friends and relatives, and to be hosting overseas visitors in the destination for the first time. The results have implications relating to the engagement of residents as destination ambassadors. </p

Hosting Friends and Relatives as a Catalyst for Immigrant Participation in Touristic Leisure.

Participation in leisure activities has been broadly shown to have positive impacts on immigrant integration. Hosting Friends and Relatives (HFR) is a highly contextual leisure activity that encourages immigrants to explore their new communities, and helps them forge connections and attachments between old and new worlds. This study surveyed 2,201 panel respondents from Toronto, Canada on their touristic leisure activities while hosting. Findings show that recently-arrived immigrant hosts visit more attractions and areas of their community, and are more likely to be participating in these experiences for the first time than other resident hosts. These results provide quantitative support for the notion, as established through previous qualitative research, that hosting can be a mechanism that pushes immigrants to engage in touristic leisure in their new communities, thereby strengthening place attachment and integration. </p