Striking up a connection with the property host is the factor that drives repeat bookings on holiday accommodation platforms such as Airbnb.

This is according to a new study, carried out by universities in the UK and Iran and published in the February 2026 edition of International Journal of Hospitality Management, that suggested that quality and value of accommodation also play a part in guest satisfaction, but personal connection is key to people deciding to stay again.

The research analyzed hundreds of online guest reviews and conducted in-depth interviews to understand what shapes guests’ evaluations of their stays in what is known as “peer-to-peer accommodation”.

Conducted over six years, the study shows that guests assess their stays using emotional cues such as warmth, atmosphere, and aesthetics; and cognitive cues such as cleanliness, safety, and convenience.

The study found that warmth, friendliness and a sense of belonging, or the “homely” side of the experience, strengthen guest loyalty, making them more likely to return to the same host. However, these feelings alone didn’t necessarily make guests more likely to recommend the property to others.

In contrast, affective and intellectual experiences – the enjoyment and perceived value of the stay – were stronger predictors of recommendations and positive reviews.

The research also examined how the quality of booking websites, such as Airbnb’s platform, influences guest behaviour. Although the website didn’t change how guests felt about the property itself, a well-designed and trustworthy site directly boosted guest loyalty and word-of-mouth.

Co-author Nektarios Tzempelikos, Professor of Marketing at Anglia Ruskin University (ARU), said: “Guests think carefully about both emotional and practical aspects before booking. Hosts who focus only on one side – either charm or functionality – may be missing the bigger picture.

“Platforms like Airbnb thrive when they’re designed for trust. Guests return to sites that are clear, reliable and easy to use. But it’s not just about tech, it’s about people. The most memorable stays come from warmth, authenticity and genuine local connection.

“By encouraging friendly, personal communication between hosts and guests, and balancing smart technology with a human touch, platforms can create experiences that feel less transactional and more meaningful.”

The study was carried out by researchers from Brunel University, University of Bradford, Newcastle University, Anglia Ruskin University and the University of Tehran.

Claiming a business page on an online review platform such as Yelp may result in a sharp decline in ratings and an increase in lengthy, negative customer feedback, according to a study from Florida International University. 

The study, led by Jong Youl Lee, assistant professor of information systems and business analytics at FIU’s College of Business, finds that once a business claims its Yelp page, its average rating falls by more than 10%, driven largely by an influx of one-star reviews and a decrease in five-star reviews. The shift is immediate and persistent, lasting more than a year after the claim date. The study was published in Information Systems Research.  

The likelihood of a one-star review rises by nearly 10% as well. These lowest-rated reviews also become substantially longer, with customers directly addressing owners or managers about service failures. An analysis of reviews shows a clear increase in negative language and a decline in positive sentiment. 

The reason, the researchers say, is rooted in consumer psychology. Claiming a page signals to the public that the owner is present, paying attention and potentially available to address complaints. That shift in perception encourages dissatisfied customers – who otherwise might have stayed silent – to voice concerns, seek remedies or demand accountability through the review platforms. 

“When customers see the page is claimed, they believe the owner is watching,” Lee said. “That motivates very unsatisfied customers to write reviews they otherwise might not have written, and they tend to be more critical and more detailed.” 

Many review platforms, including Yelp, TripAdvisor, and Yellow Pages, offer business owners the option to claim their pages, which can provide features such as photo control, basic analytics and the ability to respond to reviews. But Lee’s research suggests these perks may come with hidden costs, particularly for small, resource-constrained businesses. 

“Claiming your business page is not costless, even if it’s free of charge,” Lee said. “Businesses need to be prepared to monitor reviews and respond effectively. If they’re not ready to do this, claiming can actually hurt their reputation.” 

Drawing on a large dataset of newly opened popular restaurants in the nation’s 200 largest metro areas, the team analyzed what happened to ratings before and after a business claimed its Yelp page. Instead of relying on simple comparisons, the researchers looked at what happened before and after business owners claimed their online business pages, comparing owners who did so at different times. Using technology that can analyze and interpret written text, they also examined the review texts to measure shifts in tone and topics, and they conducted an online experiment to confirm how customers interpret the “claimed” badge. 

The implications extend beyond the restaurant industry. Any small business that lacks the staff to monitor online feedback may be vulnerable to the same dynamic, Lee said. 

The takeaway for business owners: claim your page when you are operationally ready. 

“Claiming is the very first step that allows owners to use customer management features as powerful tools for service recovery but only if owners are prepared for what comes next,” Lee said.  

Lee conducted the study with Mikhail Lysyakov and Huaxia Rui, both from the University of Rochester.

Gradually releasing TV show episodes, rather than offering full seasons all at once for binge-watchers, significantly increases engagement on subscription video-on-demand (SVoD) platforms, leading to substantially higher subscription rates.

This is according to a study that provides the first large-scale causal evidence from a real-world randomized field experiment showing how release strategies shape viewing patterns, content discovery and retention across 84,000 viewers over a five-week randomized trial.

The study, “When Less Is More: Content Strategies for Subscription Video on Demand,” was authored by Miguel Godinho de Matos of Católica Lisbon School of Business and Economics, Samir Mamadehussene of the University of Texas at Dallas and Pedro Ferreira of Carnegie Mellon University.

To conduct their study, researchers made sure that across a five-week randomized field trial conducted with a major multinational telecommunications provider, viewers were assigned to a gradual (drip) release schedule. As a result, they found these viewers were 48% more likely to continue using the platform. They were more likely to return on a weekly basis to explore additional content.

When the researchers studied the all-at-once release of episodes, they found that while this approach initially attracted more binge-watchers who were eager to start a new series immediately after launch, those platform users did not engage with the platform over time in a more sustained way.

“The moment all-at-once viewers finish a fully released show, they often leave the platform,” de Matos said. “A drip schedule keeps viewers engaged for weeks, giving them time to search, browse, and find other shows they enjoy.”

“Releasing episodes slowly creates natural touchpoints that bring viewers back each week,” said Mamadehussene. “Those repeated visits dramatically expand content discovery and strengthen retention.”

When given all-at-once access, drip-release viewers tended to watch fewer episodes the first week, but they did watch significantly more episodes in later weeks. They increased exploration of the platform catalog, and ultimately consumed more total content than those given all episodes upfront.

At the end of the free trial, drip-release users were 1.7% more likely to subscribe, a 48% increase over the all-at-once group’s baseline subscription rate of 3.48%.

To be sure, the study found that this effect varied based on binge-watching preferences. For heavy binge watchers, the lack of immediate access to full seasons reduced engagement, lowering subscription likelihood. These findings help explain why major streamers which popularized binge releases, such as Netflix, have increasingly adopted weekly or hybrid release models.

“Our results show that the drip-style release schedule boosts both engagement and subscription revenue,” said Ferreira. “When it comes to sustaining audience interest, sometimes less really is more.”