To what extent is the Airbnb market segment resilient? Evidence from the tourism and short-term rental trends of Turin (Italy) during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic crisis

The COVID-19 has abruptly affected the hospitality sector, including the short-term rental (STR) segment. The paper aims to propose an analysis for detecting to what extent the pandemic has influenced the Airbnb scenario in 2020 and the resilience of the STR segment in regional/urban contexts. The work founds firstly on an international literature review; secondly, it founds on a comparative data analysis, developed through a set of descriptive statistics and sensitive variables for focusing the analysis, all referred to different territorial areas. As a case study, a growing Italian tourist area (the Piedmont Region) is assumed, and a focus is proposed on the city of Turin (Northern Italy). The results of the research highlight two main aspects. Firstly, the literature review shows that: 1) the pandemic has influenced both the supply and the demand side; 2) the STR has been less negatively affected than traditional hospitality facilities such as hotels.