Construing travelers’ choice on peer-to-peer accommodation-sharing platform: an investigation into cultural identity and accommodation type

Purpose
This research is motivated by the increasing need for international interactions during the gradual recovery of the tourism industry. By recognizing the paucity of research on cultural closeness and accommodation categories, this research aims to illuminate the influencing mechanisms of psychological closeness and travelers’ willingness to book an accommodation-sharing property while booking an accommodation.

Design/methodology/approach
The authors employ a mixed-methods approach, including an experiment and semistructured interviews.

Findings
Results show that hosts’ higher cultural identity congruence leads to travelers’ higher willingness to book an accommodation-sharing property. Psychological closeness mediates the positive effect of cultural identity congruence on travelers’ willingness to book. The authors further explore the moderating role of room types (entire room vs. private room) and find that the mediation effect is stronger for booking an entire room.

Originality/value
The current research underlines the importance of cultural identity congruence and accommodation type on travelers’ willingness to book an accommodation-sharing property and psychological closeness.