You have arrived : geotourism and experiencing place via Airbnb

It is evident that travelers want an “in.” Rick Steves takes readers and viewers “Through the Back Door,” while the Not For Tourists series of travel books caters to those looking beyond mass appeal. Airbnb, the leader in a lodging trend called “home-sharing,” builds off the premise of “insider travel” and “living like a local” by connecting a community of hosts and guests via on online network and a trusted brand. It has grown from an apartment with a few air mattresses in 2008 to a business that currently boasts more listings than Hilton Worldwide. Valued at over a billion dollars, Airbnb’s success can be attributed to many things: the power of online networking and community brand-building, the novelty of the “sharing economy,” the fact that Airbnb lodgings are often cheaper than hotel rooms. This paper seeks to determine if Airbnb’s appeal lies in its effect on people’s experiences of place. It also seeks to determine if Airbnb facilitates what the National Geographic Society terms “geotourism,” or “tourism that sustains or enhances the geographical character of a place.” Because staying at an Airbnb lodging, in most cases, puts travelers in a preexisting architectural structure within a residential neighborhood, in touch with (and profiting) a local host, and in a situation likely to be more environmentally friendly, an argument can be made that it is. At the same time, it is offering many travelers exactly what they’ve been looking for: an in.Geography and the Environmen