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A Comparative Automated Text Analysis of Airbnb Reviews in Hong Kong and Singapore Using Latent Dirichlet Allocation

Author

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  • Kiattipoom Kiatkawsin

    (Tourism Industry Data Analytics Lab (TIDAL), Department of Hospitality and Tourism Management, Sejong University, Seoul 05006, Korea)

  • Ian Sutherland

    (Tourism Industry Data Analytics Lab (TIDAL), Department of Hospitality and Tourism Management, Sejong University, Seoul 05006, Korea)

  • Jin-Young Kim

    (Department of Hotel and Tourism Management, Dong Seoul University, Gyeonggi-do 13117, Korea)

Abstract

Airbnb has emerged as a platform where unique accommodation options can be found. Due to the uniqueness of each accommodation unit and host combination, each listing offers a one-of-a-kind experience. As consumers increasingly rely on text reviews of other customers, managers are also increasingly gaining insight from customer reviews. Thus, this present study aimed to extract those insights from reviews using latent Dirichlet allocation, an unsupervised type of topic modeling that extracts latent discussion topics from text data. Findings of Hong Kong’s 185,695 and Singapore’s 93,571 Airbnb reviews, two long-term rival destinations, were compared. Hong Kong produced 12 total topics that can be categorized into four distinct groups whereas Singapore’s optimal number of topics was only five. Topics produced from both destinations covered the same range of attributes, but Hong Kong’s 12 topics provide a greater degree of precision to formulate managerial recommendations. While many topics are similar to established hotel attributes, topics related to the host and listing management are unique to the Airbnb experience. The findings also revealed keywords used when evaluating the experience that provide more insight beyond typical numeric ratings.

Suggested Citation

  • Kiattipoom Kiatkawsin & Ian Sutherland & Jin-Young Kim, 2020. "A Comparative Automated Text Analysis of Airbnb Reviews in Hong Kong and Singapore Using Latent Dirichlet Allocation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(16), pages 1-17, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:12:y:2020:i:16:p:6673-:d:400499
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Kiattipoom Kiatkawsin & Ian Sutherland & Seul Ki Lee, 2020. "Determinants of Smart Tourist Environmentally Responsible Behavior Using an Extended Norm-Activation Model," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(12), pages 1-15, June.
    2. Guo, Yue & Barnes, Stuart J. & Jia, Qiong, 2017. "Mining meaning from online ratings and reviews: Tourist satisfaction analysis using latent dirichlet allocation," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 467-483.
    3. Grimmer, Justin & Stewart, Brandon M., 2013. "Text as Data: The Promise and Pitfalls of Automatic Content Analysis Methods for Political Texts," Political Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 21(3), pages 267-297, July.
    4. Ian Sutherland & Kiattipoom Kiatkawsin, 2020. "Determinants of Guest Experience in Airbnb: A Topic Modeling Approach Using LDA," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(8), pages 1-16, April.
    5. Lutz, Christoph & Newlands, Gemma, 2018. "Consumer segmentation within the sharing economy: The case of Airbnb," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 88(C), pages 187-196.
    6. Gutiérrez, Javier & García-Palomares, Juan Carlos & Romanillos, Gustavo & Salas-Olmedo, María Henar, 2017. "The eruption of Airbnb in tourist cities: Comparing spatial patterns of hotels and peer-to-peer accommodation in Barcelona," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 278-291.
    7. Dimitrios Buhalis & Aditya Amaranggana, 2015. "Smart Tourism Destinations Enhancing Tourism Experience Through Personalisation of Services," Springer Books, in: Iis Tussyadiah & Alessandro Inversini (ed.), Information and Communication Technologies in Tourism 2015, edition 127, pages 377-389, Springer.
    8. Xiaoting Chi & Seul Ki Lee & Young-joo Ahn & Kiattipoom Kiatkawsin, 2020. "Tourist-Perceived Quality and Loyalty Intentions towards Rural Tourism in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(9), pages 1-18, April.
    9. Ian Sutherland & Youngseok Sim & Seul Ki Lee & Jaemun Byun & Kiattipoom Kiatkawsin, 2020. "Topic Modeling of Online Accommodation Reviews via Latent Dirichlet Allocation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(5), pages 1-15, February.
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    Cited by:

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    4. Kiattipoom Kiatkawsin & Ngoc Anh Bui & Richard Hrankai & Kwangmin Jeong, 2021. "The Moderating Roles of Sensation Seeking and Worry among Nature-Based Adventure Tourists," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(4), pages 1-18, February.

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