Exploring the relationship between trusts, likability, brand loyalty, and revisit intentions in the context of Airbnb

Purpose Collaborative consumption has caught researchers’ attention due to its rapid growth. Drawing on the causal relationship between cognition, affection and conation and collaborative consumption literature, this paper aims to investigate the drivers of brand loyalty and revisit intentions in the context of Airbnb. Design/methodology/approach The data was collected from 399 Airbnb users using the online survey. Partial least square structural equation modeling was used to test hypotheses. Mediation tests were conducted with multiple mediation analyses. Findings The study reveals that brand likeability enhanced by customers’ trust in both hosts and Airbnb drives satisfaction, brand loyalty and revisit intention. Moreover, satisfaction impacts revisit intention through a full mediation of brand loyalty. Research limitations/implications The role that trust and likability play in enhancing brand loyalty and the intention to revisit is not well documented in the literature on collaborative consumption. The results show that consumers’ trust (cognition) is the first step to the success of collaborative consumption, and consumers’ trust in both platform and hosts will make the Airbnb brand more attractive and likable. When brand likability (affection) grows deeper through more engagement, consumers are more willing (intention) to spend more time staying in Airbnb accommodation. Originality/value Although existing literature discusses trust from the consumers’ standpoint and categorizes it into two types, the influence of trust on brand likability has never been tested before. Based on the causal relationship between cognition, affection and conation, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, this paper is the first one investigating trust in both the platform and hosts as key drivers of brand likability, which enhances customer satisfaction, brand loyalty and revisit intentions in the Airbnb context.