Antecedents of Customer Preferences and Satisfaction in Airbnb Stays: A Critical Narrative Review of Functional, Experiential, Relational and Contextual Drivers

Abstract

Airbnb has shifted accommodation choice from a relatively standardised service comparison towards a hybrid decision involving a digital platform, an independently managed property, a host relationship and a locally embedded stay. This critical narrative review synthesises evidence on the antecedents of customer preferences for Airbnb and post-stay satisfaction, while distinguishing these outcomes from loyalty and repurchase intention. Literature published from 1 January 2008 to 19 June 2026 was considered, with emphasis on peer-reviewed empirical studies, meta-analyses and conceptually important hospitality and sharing-economy research. The evidence indicates that Airbnb preference and satisfaction are not driven by a single sharing-economy motive. Economic value, location and convenience remain important, but their effects are conditional on perceived utility, property fit, information credibility and expectations. Experiential motives - especially enjoyment, novelty, local authenticity and home-like benefits - explain part of Airbnb's differentiation from hotels, yet social interaction is more contingent on property type and guest goals than early accounts implied. Trust operates at multiple levels: platform trust, host trust and confidence in listing information are related but non-interchangeable. Recent research also shows that amenity effects are selective rather than uniformly positive, and that correspondence between host descriptions and guest reviews can shape booking intention before a stay. Satisfaction is particularly sensitive to basic service execution, including cleanliness, facilities, check-in, responsiveness, neighbourhood fit and the avoidance of salient failures. Online ratings must nevertheless be interpreted cautiously because Airbnb reviews are strongly positive and review-giving itself is selective. The synthesis therefore proposes a conditional expectation-experience model in which pre-stay preferences arise from expected value under uncertainty, whereas satisfaction reflects realised performance, expectation congruence and failure avoidance. Future research should link pre-booking exposure, actual stay attributes and post-stay responses longitudinally, use multi-market and property-level data, model nonlinear effects, and separate platform, host and accommodation satisfaction.