Guest experience and unique accommodation features in Göreme, Cappadocia: An Airbnb review analysis

Year 2024, Volume: 9 Issue: 3, 317 - 325, 31.12.2024

Koray Çamlıca

https://doi.org/10.31822/jomat.2024-9-3-317

Abstract

This study investigates the influence of unique accommodation features on guest experiences in the Göreme town of Cappadocia, focusing on Airbnb reviews. By analyzing 5,677 reviews from 122 Airbnb listings, the research identifies key features such as cave dwellings, panoramic views, and hot air balloon experiences, which significantly contribute to guest satisfaction. A mixed-method approach has been used, combining frequency analysis and sentiment analysis, to evaluate how these unique elements shape guests' perceptions and overall satisfaction. The findings highlight the critical role of both aesthetic qualities and service standards, emphasizing the need for hosts to balance unique architectural features with essential hospitality services like cleanliness and maintenance. This research provides insights for Airbnb hosts and destination marketers to enhance the appeal of Cappadocia as a premier destination for immersive, authentic tourism experiences. The study also offers strategic recommendations for improving marketing efforts and destination management by leveraging Cappadocia's cultural and natural heritage to create memorable guest experiences. As a suggestion for future research, it may be useful to extend the findings of this study to a wider geographical area and examine different tourist profiles.

Keywords

Cappadocia, Airbnb, Guest experience, Accommodation features, Sentiment analysis.

References

• Akarsu, T. N., Foroudi, P., & Melewar, T. (2020). What makes Airbnb likeable? Exploring the nexus between service attractiveness, country image, perceived authenticity, and experience from a social exchange theory perspective within an emerging economy context. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 91, 102635. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhm.2020.102635
• Al-Saffar, M., & Aoul, K. A. T. (2019). Visitors' voice in historic sites interpretation centres in Bahrain. Journal of Physics: Conference Series, 603(5), 052006. https://doi.org/10.1088/1757-899x/603/5/052006
• Bae, K., Jang, Y., Han, J., Pobil, Á. P. D., & Park, E. (2021). A quantitative analysis of satisfaction on Airbnb from UX perspectives: The comparison between the United States and Hong Kong. Proceedings of the 2021 International Conference on Ubiquitous Information Management and Communication (IMCOM), 1–4. https://doi.org/10.1109/imcom51814.2021.9377421
• Barış-Tüzemen, Ö., Tüzemen, S., & Çelik, A. K. (2023). Sentiment analysis of reviews on Cappadocia: The land of beautiful horses in the eyes of tourists. European Journal of Tourism, Hospitality and Recreation, 13(2), 188–197. https://doi.org/10.2478/ejthr-2023-0015
• Belk, R. (2014). You are what you can access: Sharing and collaborative consumption online. Journal of Business Research, 67(8), 1595–1600. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2013.10.001
• Birinci, H., Berezina, K., & Çobanoğlu, C. (2018). Comparing customer perceptions of hotel and peer-to-peer accommodation advantages and disadvantages. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 30(2), 1190–1210. https://doi.org/10.1108/ijchm-09-2016-0506
• Chittiprolu, V., Nagaraj, S., & Bellamkonda, R. S. (2021). Heritage hotels and customer experience: A text mining analysis of online reviews. International Journal of Contemporary Tourism and Hospitality Research, 15(2), 131–156. https://doi.org/10.1108/ijcthr-02-2020-0050
• Çoban, G., & Yıldız, O. (2019). Developing a destination management model: Case of Cappadocia. Tourism Management Perspectives, 30, 117–128. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tmp.2019.02.012
• Çoban, Ö., & Yetiş, Ş. A. (2019). The effect of customers’ hotel experience on satisfaction: The mediating role of memorability. Barbarói: Journal of Tourism, Hospitality, and Leisure, 9(1–3). https://doi.org/10.34019/2238-2925.2019.v9.27384 Egresi, I., Puiu, V., Zotic, V., & Alexandru, D. (2019). Attributes that contribute to guest satisfaction: A comparative study of reviews posted on Booking.com and Airbnb’s platform. Tourism Analysis, 24(4), 443–455.
• Fischer, S. L., Pahus, H. S., & Bager, A. (2019). What motivates people to become Airbnb hosts - do we know enough? - an exploration of the literature. Tourism and Hospitality Planning & Development, 9(2), 83–88. https://doi.org/10.1080/22243534.2019.1689697
• Guttentag, D. (2019). Transformative experiences via Airbnb: Is it the guests or the host communities that will be transformed? Journal of Tourism Futures, 5(2), 179–184. https://doi.org/10.1108/jtf-04-2019-0038
• Guttentag, D. A. (2015). Airbnb: Disruptive innovation and the rise of an informal tourism accommodation sector. Current Issues in Tourism, 18(12), 1192–1217. https://doi.org/10.1080/13683500.2013.827159
• Han, H., & Ryu, K. (2009). The roles of the physical environment, price perception, and customer satisfaction in determining customer loyalty in the restaurant industry. Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research, 33(4), 487–510. https://doi.org/10.1177/1096348009344212
• Han, L. (2022). Analysis of the market response of the shared accommodation industry. Proceedings of the 2022 International Conference on Business Management and Research (AEBMR). https://doi.org/10.2991/aebmr.k.220502.035
• Hati, S. R. H., Balqiah, T. E., Hananto, A., & Yuliati, E. (2021). A decade of systematic literature review on Airbnb: The sharing economy from a multiple stakeholder perspective. Heliyon, 7(10), e08222. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2021.e08222
• Jiang, W., & Liu, B. (2022). Intelligent hotel resource sharing system based on data fusion. Journal of Intelligent Systems, 2022, 1–8. https://doi.org/10.1155/2022/7439903
• Karagöz, D., & Uysal, M. (2020). Tourists' need for uniqueness as a representation of differentiated identity. Journal of Travel Research, 61(1), 76–92. https://doi.org/10.1177/0047287520972804
• Karakuş, Y. (2019). Identifying the best alternative tourism product for a destination: The case of Cappadocia. Barbarói: Journal of Tourism, Hospitality, and Leisure, 9(1–3). https://doi.org/10.34019/2238-2925.2019.v9.16929
• Lee, C. K. H., Tse, Y. K., Zhang, M., & Wang, Y. (2022). What have hosts overlooked for improving stay experience in accommodation-sharing? Empirical evidence from Airbnb customer reviews. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 35(2), 765–784. https://doi.org/10.1108/ijchm-12-2021-1544
• Lee, S., Kim, M. J., & Kim, D. (2022). The effect of Airbnb users’ regret on dissatisfaction and negative behavioral intention. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 20(1), 2. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20010002
• Li, J., Hudson, S., & So, K. K. F. (2019). Exploring the customer experience with Airbnb. International Journal of Contemporary Tourism and Hospitality Research, 13(4), 410–429. https://doi.org/10.1108/ijcthr-10-2018-0148
• Lin, I. Y., & Worthley, R. (2012). Servicescape moderation on personality traits, emotions, satisfaction, and behaviors. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 31(1), 31-42.
• Mehmetoglu, M., & Engen, M. (2011). Pine and Gilmore’s concept of experience economy and its dimensions: An empirical examination in tourism. Journal of Quality Assurance in Hospitality & Tourism, 12(4), 237–255. https://doi.org/10.1080/1528008X.2011.541847
• Mody, M., & Hanks, L. (2019). Consumption authenticity in the accommodations industry: The keys to brand love and brand loyalty for hotels and Airbnb. Journal of Travel Research, 59(1), 173–189. https://doi.org/10.1177/0047287519826233
• Mody, M., Suess, C., & Lehto, X. (2017). The accommodation experiencescape: A comparative assessment of hotels and Airbnb. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 29(9), 2377–2404. https://doi.org/10.1108/ijchm-09-2016-0501
• Mohsin, A., & Lengler, J. (2021). Airbnb hospitality: Exploring users and non-users’ perceptions and intentions. Sustainability, 13(19), 10884. https://doi.org/10.3390/su131910884
• NLTK. (2024). Natural Language Toolkit 3.9.1 version. Accessed on 25 September 2024. https://www.nltk.org/index.html
• Özel, Ç. H., & Kozak, N. (2016). An exploratory study of resident perceptions toward the tourism industry in Cappadocia: A social exchange theory approach. Asia Pacific Journal of Tourism Research, 22(3), 284–300. https://doi.org/10.1080/10941665.2016.1236826
• Öztürk Büke, F. G. (2023). Tourism-led adaptive reuse of the built vernacular heritage: A critical assessment of the transformation of historic neighbourhoods in Cappadocia, Turkey. Journal of Heritage Tourism, 14(4), 474–497. https://doi.org/10.1080/17567505.2023.2236861
• Pine, B. J., & Gilmore, J. H. (1998). Welcome to the experience economy. Harvard Business Review, 76(4), 97–105.
• Pizam, A., & Ellis, T. (1999). Customer satisfaction and its measurement in hospitality enterprises. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 11(7), 326–339. https://doi.org/10.1108/09596119910293231
• Prayag, G., & Ryan, C. (2012). Antecedents of tourists’ loyalty to Mauritius: The role and influence of destination image, place attachment, personal involvement, and satisfaction. Journal of Travel Research, 51(3), 342–356. https://doi.org/10.1177/0047287511410321
• Seyitoğlu, F., Çakar, K., & Karataş, G. (2019). Göreme (Cappadocia): Examining the hostel experiences of tourists. Tourism Planning & Development, 31(1), 142–145. https://doi.org/10.1080/13032917.2019.1689516
• Smith, W. L. (2005). Experiential tourism around the world and at home: Definitions and standards. International Journal of Services and Standards, 2(1), 1. https://doi.org/10.1504/ijss.2006.008156
• Sthapit, E., & Björk, P. (2019). Sources of distrust: Airbnb guests’ perspectives. Journal of Tourism Futures, 9(2), 83–88.
• Tajeddini, K., Rasoolimanesh, S. M., Gamage, T. C., & Martín, E. (2021). Exploring the visitors' decision-making process for Airbnb and hotel accommodations using value-attitude-behavior and theory of planned behavior. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 96, 102950. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhm.2021.102950
• Tucker, H., & Emge, A. (2010). Managing a world heritage site: The case of Cappadocia. Tourism Planning & Development, 21(1), 41–54. https://doi.org/10.1080/13032917.2010.9687089
• Uriely, N. (2005). The tourist experience: Conceptual developments. Annals of Tourism Research, 32(1), 199–216. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annals.2004.07.008
• Xiang, Z., Schwartz, Z., Gerdes, J., & Uysal, M. (2014). What can big data and text analytics tell us about hotel guest experience and satisfaction? International Journal of Hospitality Management, 44, 120–130. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhm.2014.10.013
• Yao, J. (2019). Automated sentiment analysis of text data with NLTK. In Journal of Physics: Conference Series (Vol. 1187, No. 5, p. 052020). IOP Publishing.
• Zarezadeh, Z., Rastegar, R., & Xiang, Z. (2022). Big data analytics and hotel guest experience: A critical analysis of the literature. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 34(6), 2320–2336. https://doi.org/10.1108/ijchm-10-2021-1293
• Zervas, G., Proserpio, D., & Byers, J. W. (2017). The rise of the sharing economy: Estimating the impact of Airbnb on the hotel industry. Journal of Marketing Research, 54(5), 687–705. https://doi.org/10.1509/jmr.15.0204