@unpublished{theses_frw4031, year = {2022}, title = {Assessing the effect of proximity to tourist attraction sites on Airbnb listings? nightly rates: Evidence from Athens, Greece}, author = {Spyridon Melissourgos}, abstract = {Motivated by the significant contribution of the tourism activity and the expansion of Airbnb listings to the Greek national and local economy in conjunction with the importance of location in Airbnb rate determination, this study investigates the impact of proximity to tourist attractions on Airbnb nightly rates in Athens. Established works find that location specifications, host-related characteristics, property features, services, and the number of reviews influence listings? nightly rates. However, the effect of proximity to attractive sites on nightly rates has been scarcely examined. By employing hedonic regression models with a cross-sectional dataset provided by Inside Airbnb, we find that, on average, listings? nightly rates increase as their distance to tourist attractions decreases, whilst controlling for other nightly rate determinants. This effect is persistent both when the independent variable is defined as the distance to the nearest tourist spot or the average distance to all tourist sites. The impact of proximity to attractive sites on nightly rates is meaningful for Airbnb owners? (price-setting) and investors? decisions, as well as for the Hellenic Government. Future research may also consider seasonal differences and nightly rate segmentation to derive more detailed findings.}, url = {https://frw.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/4031/} }