The effect of the COVID-19 on sharing economy: survival analysis of Airbnb listings

Abstract

This research investigates the survival probability of listings in the Airbnb platform during the COVID-19 period between January-October 2020 in Istanbul. In line with the research aim, Cox's Proportional Hazard Model is adopted to conduct survival analysis, where the physical and spatial attributes of Airbnb listings are used as predictors. Our findings show that while physical attributes show similarity to previous findings, spatial attributes show substantial differences in the Pre-COVID and Post-COVID comparison.  The contributions of the study have two facets. Theoretically, this research's findings contribute to the current literature by understanding the changing consumer preferences and identifying the factors that affect Airbnb listings' survival rates during the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings may also help practitioners understand changing customers' preferences during COVID, especially in terms of locational choices. Moreover, customer feedback's quality and quantity might help the Airbnb hosts to improve their service quality, attract more customers, and be more resilient under the changing conditions.