Hospitality, Home and Life in the Platform Economies of Tourism

Description

This book explores how digital platforms in the realm of tourism and hospitality have shaped social and material worlds. Based on extensive ethnographic fieldwork with hosts and guests, the book analyses the impacts of platforms on the scale of the city, the home, and the everyday life of individuals. The book first situates platforms within the broader history of digital developments in tourism and questions what is essentially new about these socio-technical formations? The following chapters demonstrate how platforms have affected urban housing, challenged the tourism sector, and transformed understandings of hospitality and home. This is illustrated through a case-study of Airbnb’s development and impact in Sofia, Bulgaria. The final chapters of the book reflect on the political dimensions of datafication processes and digital systems of measurement that underpin the platform’s workings, showing how the platform economies of tourism benefit their users in highly uneven ways. Acknowledgements Contents List of Figures 1 Introduction A Note on Methods References 2 A Brief History of Tourism Platforms The Dawn of Computer Reservation Systems Platforms and Markets Platforms and the “Sharing Economy” Historical Context of Hospitality Networks and Platforms A Brief History of Airbnb Hosts, Guests, and Labour in the Airbnb Economy Co-Hosts and Reproductive Labour Airbnb’s Digital Architecture Positioning Airbnb References 3 The Socio-Spatial Impacts of Airbnb Short-Term Rental Platforms and Their Impacts Daily Disruptions of Everyday Life Airbnb’s Impact on the Tourism and Hospitality Sector Enforcing Rules and Regulations Exploring the Socio-Spatial Impacts of Airbnb in Sofia, Bulgaria Sofia Sofia’s City Districts and Clusters An Exploration of Airbnb in Sofia Guest Reviews of Airbnb listings in Sofia Airbnb Sofia’s “Local” Hosts Limitations Conclusion Postscript References 4 Airbnb-ed Homes and Everyday Life Imaginaries and Spatialities of Home Shifting Meanings of Home Home and Capitalism Home in Late Capitalist Economies Home in the Sharing Economy and Tourism Approaching the Home Through Performance An (Auto)Ethnography of Home Selecting Airbnb Homes in Sofia, Bulgaria Researching the Airbnb Home Setting the “Stage”: Material Accounts of (Post-)Socialist Homes Energy Monopolies and the Visceral Home Home Heritage Sharing Home with Strangers Bordering the Private and Intimate Spatialities of Home Changing Relationalities of Home Conclusion References 5 Datafication of Everyday Life and Bodies Introduction Airbnb Datafication Processes Silent Datafication and the Work of Being Watched Airbnb’s Review and Rating Applications The Deeper Politics of Reviews, Ratings and Rankings Disciplinary and Regulatory Power Safety, security and Coercion of Social Behaviour Airbnb Search Revealed: Or, the Importance of Ranking Well Concluding Thoughts: Airbnb’s Biopolitics References 6 Conclusion References Index