Attributes influencing guests' experiences: a comparison of nonprofit and for-profit peer-to-peer accommodation platforms

Peer-to-peer accommodation has generated an ecosystem of platforms with different business models (i.e., for-profit and nonprofit). This study aims to identify and compare attributes that influence guests' experiences as reviewed on the for-profit platform Airbnb and the nonprofit platforms Couchsurfing.com and HomeExchange.com according to a three-dimensional experience theoretical model and a methodological approach to interpret these attributes. The study used text-mining techniques to analyze 772,768 online travel reviews representing Spain's four most-visited cities. Findings show that attributes influencing guests' experiences in the case of nonprofit platforms relate to the authenticity dimension of experience (e.g., existential values and travel philosophy). Furthermore, guests reported that their guest-host interaction was the most representative attribute and that, unlike with Airbnb, such interaction helped to create a more authentic experience. By contrast, attributes of guests' experiences in the case of for-profit platforms related to the physical amenities and characteristics that guests would expect to find in hotels. Those results can allow destination managers and accommodation practitioners to better understand users of peer-to-peer accommodations and thereby design more suitable strategies and experiences for them. Experience is at the heart of the tourism industry. Until now, most research on users? experiences in Peer to Peer (P2P) accommodations has examined the for-profit platform Airbnb, which tends to be similar to experiences in traditional accommodations. Consequently, evidence of guests? experiences from other types of P2P accommodation platforms remains limited, which complicates identifying the impact of accommodation sharing at destinations and the dynamics generated based on perceptions of users? experiences. This article thus provides researchers and practitioners with insights into theory and methodologies that can elucidate the guest experience in accommodations on nonprofit accommodation platforms. Such insights can support strategies to improve the experiences of backpackers and families alike, which stands to increase their loyalty and satisfaction. According to our findings, such guests are especially interesting for destinations and provide added value, co-create more authentic experiences through host?guest interaction, and are potentially more sustainable given their P2P travel philosophy.