Authentic Experiences and Commodification in Airbnb

Running head: PRINCIPLES OF MANAGEMENT
Principles of Management
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1PRINCIPLES OF MANAGEMENT
Airbnb was founded in the year 2008. Their mission is to provide authentic and
sustainable travel experiences thus creating a world where everyone is included and belong
anywhere they want. Their packages include unique stay and activity experiences as well as a
close contact with the locals (About Us - Airbnb Newsroom., 2019). Most of their property is
hosted by the owners themselves. These people are a part of the local community that they
live in and Airbnb believes that staying in those places ensures that the travelers have an
authentic experience. There have been criticisms that this concept popularized by Airbnb as a
marketing ploy and visitors and travelers are only chasing to fulfill their fantasies (Vannini &
Williams, 2016). In this essay, it has been argued that the authentic experiences as offered by
Airbnb are truly a ploy to attract more consumers. It is also established here that the
consumers in questions are only pursuing the idea of living the life of the locals. Moreover,
the authenticity concept of Airbnb and its impact on the commodification of people and place
has been evaluated.
Airbnb provides their services in 191 countries. They provide unique
accommodations like, tree houses, beach houses, castles, heritage buildings, tents as well as
all kinds of luxurious stays. Along with that they provide personalized services, city tours,
adventures and sports activities. The main idea is to provide an ‘authentic’ and local
experience to the visitors. The travelling priorities have changed significantly nowadays.
Earlier people focused on the popular tourist places and the accommodations that they chose
used to be at the most convenient location. Now, millennial are more interested in visiting the
off-beat places, tasting local cuisine, mingle with the local community and look at their
culture closely. They want to visit their local markets and learn about their life. Airbnb has
tapped this market and come up with a unique idea where they play the mediator between the
travelers and the hosts, claiming that this leads to ‘authentic’ experience that they are looking
for.

2PRINCIPLES OF MANAGEMENT
Authenticity is an arguable concept in tourism. It generally means real. In tourism,
when travelers experience the real activities and aspects of the local culture, that experience
can be called authentic (Croes, Lee & Olson, 2013). In most cases, the authenticity provided
in tourism are staged, which means that service providers create or stage the some aspects of
the local culture in order to give the tourists an apparent impression of real. Airbnb too, has
adopted this concept. They include hosts from around the world and claim that through them,
the travelers will experience the local life. While this is partially true as travelers are given
the option to choose places that have a certain charm to it, it remains to be seen how much
inclusion they are experiencing.
In terms of authenticity of experiences, the proximity of nature is offered by many
tourism companies including Airbnb. This is achievable as this is easy. The resorts and other
nature camps, the tree houses and forest tents all contribute to the authenticity of experiences
(Ram, Björk & Weidenfeld, 2016). Many scholar believe that, the aspect of authenticity is
limited here and the idea of inclusion and real local experience is still a myth. Culture in a
community is a very continuous concept. It evolves constantly and inclusion happens through
time and familiarity. With this understanding, it becomes easy to understand why the ‘real’
cultural experiences are impossible to achieve.
In any culture, it is quite impossible to include people in short notice and within a
short amount of time (Palomera, 2014). This is more true for more closed culture where
people share a close bond with each other in the community. Thus, if a tourist is visiting such
a place, it is not possible for them to think of them as their own. The tourist will remain an
outsider. Though they might show hospitality and generosity, the true lifestyle, rituals and
customs cannot be experienced by the traveler. Moreover, the properties and the adventures
that they provide are provided by people that have already been commercialized. The cultural
experience that the travelers are looking for will be available to people that are not exposed to