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Effects of Host Race Information on Airbnb Listing Prices in San Francisco

Author

Listed:
  • Kakar, Venoo
  • Franco, Julisa
  • Voelz, Joel
  • Wu, Julia

Abstract

The surge in Peer to Peer e-commerce has increasingly been characterized by changing the online marketplace to a more personalized environment for the buyer and seller. This personalization involves revealing information on buyer reviews, pictures and biographical information on the sellers to reduce the perceived ``purchase risk" or to facilitate trust with the buyers. However, this personalization has generated possibilities for discrimination in the online marketplace. In this paper, we examine the effect of host information available online (race, gender and sexual orientation etc.) on price listings on Airbnb.com in San Francisco. We find that hispanic hosts and asian hosts, on average, have a 9.6% and 9.3% lower list price relative to their white counterparts, after controlling for neighborhood property values, user reviews and rental unit characteristics. We don't find any significant impact of gender and sexual orientation on price listings. Overall, our findings corroborate the presence of racial discrimination in the online marketplace.

Suggested Citation

  • Kakar, Venoo & Franco, Julisa & Voelz, Joel & Wu, Julia, 2016. "Effects of Host Race Information on Airbnb Listing Prices in San Francisco," MPRA Paper 69974, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    • Handle: RePEc:pra:mprapa:69974
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Koster, Hans R.A. & van Ommeren, Jos & Volkhausen, Nicolas, 2021. "Short-term rentals and the housing market: Quasi-experimental evidence from Airbnb in Los Angeles," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 124(C).
    2. Carrasco-Farré, Carlos & Snihur, Yuliya & Berrone, Pascual & Ricart, Joan Enric, 2022. "The stakeholder value proposition of digital platforms in an urban ecosystem," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 51(4).
    3. Nicole Gurran & Peter Phibbs, 2017. "When Tourists Move In: How Should Urban Planners Respond to Airbnb?," Journal of the American Planning Association, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 83(1), pages 80-92, January.
    4. Huimin Gu & Tingting (Christina) Zhang & Can Lu & Xiaoxiao Song, 2021. "Assessing Trust and Risk Perceptions in the Sharing Economy: An Empirical Study," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 58(4), pages 1002-1032, June.
    5. Giulia Contu & Luca Frigau & Claudio Conversano, 2023. "Price indicators for Airbnb accommodations," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 57(5), pages 4779-4802, October.
    6. Horn, Keren & Merante, Mark, 2017. "Is home sharing driving up rents? Evidence from Airbnb in Boston," Journal of Housing Economics, Elsevier, vol. 38(C), pages 14-24.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Airbnb; Discrimination; Race; Online marketplace;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D40 - Microeconomics - - Market Structure, Pricing, and Design - - - General
    • D47 - Microeconomics - - Market Structure, Pricing, and Design - - - Market Design
    • J71 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor Discrimination - - - Hiring and Firing

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