Attributes, scoring and hedonic prices in the Province of Buenos Aires and CABA: an analysis based on Booking and Airbnb

Abstract

It is a well-known fact that the price per night that people must pay for accommodation varies greatly from one another. Several attributes determine the room rates that accommodations charge. These attributes include not only room quality but also access to various shared facili-ties, service quality, and the evaluation that consumers do regarding their stay. In this sense, the hedonic price technique has been used to estimate willingness to pay for product charac-teristics. This approach states that the price of a product can be considered as an additive function of the various attributes that have an implicit utility and price and can be determined separately. Considering this methodology and using data from two tourist websites, Booking and Airbnb, the aim of this paper is to study the influence of a variety of attributes on the room rates charged for accommodations in Buenos Aires Province (PBA) and the City of Bue-nos Aires (CABA). The results suggest a change in the willingness to pay in PBA from more traditional attributes (heating, air conditioning, etc.) to more specific ones (sports, spa, etc.). In CABA and PBA, attention should be paid to subjective attributes since they also have a signifi-cant impact on the price.

Keywords
Tourism; Airbnb; Sharing economy; Hedonic prices