The effects of the professionalization of hosting on service quality: towards quality standards and certifications within the short-term rental market

Miguel, C., Načinović Braje, I., Drotarova, M. H., Dumančić, K., Kirkulak-Uludag, B. and Giglio, C. (2024) The effects of the professionalization of hosting on service quality: towards quality standards and certifications within the short-term rental market. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 122. 103796. ISSN 1873-4693 doi: 10.1016/j.ijhm.2024.103796

Abstract/Summary

This paper explores how the increasing professionalization of the short-term rental market (previously dominated by individual hosts) fosters the implementation of formal quality standards in the sector. It is based on 36 in-depth interviews conducted with different stakeholders of the short-term rental industry in six European countries, namely, Croatia, Cyprus, Italy, Spain, Turkey, and the UK, and at EU level. The article maps different initiatives that outline some quality standards for short-term rentals. We found first, that to implement quality standardisation, it is important to distinguish between private and professional hosts; and, second, that consensus must be reached on: (1) whether quality would be standardised at national or EU level; (2) which governing body should be responsible for quality certifications (e.g., governments or private institutions as in the case of ISO standards); and (3) identification of practices that should be certified (e.g., property facilities/amenities, size, health & safety protection, etc.).

Item Type	Article
URI	https://reading-clone.eprints-hosting.org/id/eprint/116630
Item Type	Article
Refereed	Yes
Divisions	Henley Business School > Marketing and Reputation
Publisher	Elsevier
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