Italy Is in the Air(bnb). The Uneven Diffusion of Short-Term Rental Markets between Urban Locations and Selective Tourism Destinations

Airbnb has been at the forefront of the reshaped hospitality industry for more than a decade. The Covid-19 pandemic, by limiting people’s mobility, radically affected tourism and hospitality sectors with a drastic reduction in the apparently incessant advance of Airbnb spread, in Italy and beyond. As data in 2020 are not yet fully available, this article depicts the spatial distribution of Airbnb in Italy in 2017-19 as a basis situation for future analysis inquiring the effects of the pandemic. The study is conducted by using a dynamic panel model, with GMM-SYS estimation. Results show that, despite sharing economy is proposed as fair and equipotential, Airbnb turns out to be highly selective. The evidence indicates that «access» alone, even if favored by platforms, does not guarantee market power, and performances are much more concentrated than listings. Moreover, the urban appeal of Airbnb is confirmed; traditional hospitality turns out to be a significant predictor of Airbnb presence and performances; the economic condition of unemployment is positively associated with Airbnb presence.