‘Belong anywhere’: Focusing on authenticity and the roleof Airbnb in the projected destination image

Abstract

There is little research that analyses the contribution of tourism-related digital plat-forms, and particularly Airbnb, to the creation and projection of international destina-tions' images. This study seeks to address this gap by developing a content analysisof the Airbnb Guides to more than 500 global urban neighbourhoods (globalhoods).We analysed Airbnb users' descriptions posted in the period following the GreatRecession up to the COVID-19 pandemic. Content analysis shows how Airbnb pro-jects the images of these globalhoods through a narrative based on creating a percep-tion of authenticity but that finally projects a commodified image of destinationidentities and their communities.