In the Eye of the Beholder: Customer Experience Journey with Airbnb

Abstract

The rapid growth of the sharing economy has transformed the tourism and hospitality landscape, with peer-to-peer accommodation platforms such as Airbnb redefining how travellers search for, consume, and evaluate lodging experiences. Despite Airbnb’s global reach and disruptive impact on traditional hospitality models, limited research has empirically examined the customer experience across the full consumption journey. Addressing this gap, the present exploratory study investigates the Airbnb customer experience through the lens of Customer Journey Mapping (CJM), with the objective of identifying critical service touchpoints and proposing managerial strategies to enhance customer experience at each stage of the journey. Drawing on an integrative approach, the study combines a review of the peer-to-peer accommodation and customer experience literature with exploratory consumer insights. An initial set of customer touchpoints was identified through prior research and unstructured interviews with Airbnb hosts and guests. These touchpoints were subsequently evaluated using an online survey distributed via social media and email to respondents with prior Airbnb usage experience. Only touchpoints reported by more than one-third of respondents were retained for inclusion in the final CJM. The findings reveal that Airbnb customers engage with a diverse set of salient touchpoints across the pre-service, service, and post-service stages. Pre-service touchpoints—such as property search filters, map-based location search, host and property reviews, and host communication—emerged as particularly influential in shaping expectations. During the service stage, experiential factors related to property accuracy, cleanliness, functionality, safety, and host helpfulness were identified as central to customer satisfaction. Post-service engagement was dominated by review-writing and private feedback provision, underscoring the importance of social and customer-owned touchpoints in peer-to-peer platforms. Building on these insights, the study presents stage-specific Customer Journey Maps that integrate proposed strategic initiatives aligned with the Servuction Model, including improvements to the digital servicescape, host and customer service interactions, peer influences, and invisible organizational systems. By empirically grounding CJM in customer-reported touchpoint salience, this research contributes to the customer experience and sharing economy literature while offering actionable guidance for service innovation. Further research in collaboration with Airbnb management, hosts, and guests is recommended to refine and validate these strategic interventions.