What makes the ideal Airbnb host? We studied guest experiences to find out

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A selling point of hotels has traditionally been the standardised service offered by their trained staff. In contrast, “peer-to-peer” accommodation – of which Airbnb is the most popular host platform – is usually run more informally by individual hosts who have little if any formal hospitality training.

What they offer instead is personal interaction, a sense of authenticity, and local knowledge about the area. And our multi-year research shows that this is often rated much more highly by visiting guests.