What happens when you turn your home into your workplace? This question often arises when analyzing how accommodation-sharing platforms like Airbnb continue to blur the lines between personal space and professional service. In the hospitality industry, it is important to understand that personal space and professional service are often blurred. gig economyThe growth of in-home hosting is redefining business models, and has shifted boundaries between family and work life.
This article explores recent research on the human experience behind the Airbnb model, revealing how freedom and flexibility often collide with the emotional cost of turning one’s ‘home’ into a hotel. We suggest a set of evidence-based recommendations based on survey and interview data to help platforms and host co-create a more sustainable and supportive environment.
The Human Cost Of The Gig Economy
What does it mean for you to host strangers at your home as a job? What is the impact on your life, not only physically but also mentally?
The article “Work-family Integration and Segmentation in the Gig Economy: An Exploratory Study on Airbnb Hosts’ Experiences” by de Janasz and Kim, Schneer Beutell Wong. This research provides a much-needed and timely lens on the people side of the platform-based economy, at a moment when gigs are becoming more popular and domestic.
The study serves as a good reminder that freedom is not without its costs, especially if your home doubles as your office. The truth behind the “be yourself” narrative for Airbnb hosts is much more complex. Hosting involves juggling between the roles of a business owner and a private resident. It also requires balancing the warm hospitality of ‘home’ with the personal boundaries of ‘business.
In a study of 136 hosts on Airbnb, we investigated how the social and emotional landscape of hosting impacts well-being and family life, as well as the desire to host in the future. In our survey, we found that there was a growing gap between the ideal of the self-directed and happy host and the reality where individuals are struggling with blurred lines and lack of support.
Airbnb Hosting Challenges
Drawing on ‘boundary theory’, (a classification model based on the management of boundaries between different life contexts, especially work and home), the authors examined how Airbnb hosts manage their work and personal lives, especially when their preferences for segmenting or integrating these spheres don’t align with the realities of gig hosting. Segmentors Integrators are more comfortable with blending work and home.
The study examined segmentation versus integration preference and its effects on work/family conflict, satisfaction, and the intention to remain as a host. The sample consisted of a wide range of hosts. Some provided non-shared accommodation (full apartments or houses), while others accommodated guests in their homes.
It was evident that hosts who prefer to keep family and work separate experienced higher levels of conflict when work interfered with family or vice versa. This friction was often reflected in lower job satisfaction and a decreased desire to host.
Misalignment is a source of stress
The research examined the much-praised concept of flexible work in the gig economic. Flexible working is not always a good thing, or at least, it’s certainly not for everyone. Its value is determined by how well a job’s structure fits with the person’s life and work. What’s advertised as freedom may become difficult to maintain when there is a mismatch.
The hosts who welcome guests into a shared space in their homes face a greater challenge than those who live in completely separate apartments. The cohabitation of physical space amplified psychological role blurring. Strangers in the kitchen as you prepare your child for school or unwind after a hard day is a particularly unsettling thought. This is not just a matter of inconvenience; it strikes at the very heart of what ‘home’ means.
Airbnb, like many other platforms, promotes hosting as a simple way to make money. But the reality is much more complex. Airbnb hosts are rated by guests in real time, and must respond to all messages within one hour, regardless of the time zone. They are also penalized for cancelling, even if they have legitimate family emergencies.
Expectations from the platform constantly disturb hosts’ privacy and routine. Airbnb is a part of the home, so it’s hard to get away. Even for integrators that are comfortable with a work-life balance, the emotional toil of hosting and the platform’s constant demands may be too much.
What Support Can Do for You
Good news: not all hosts face these challenges in the same way. The interviewees we spoke to confirmed that social supports (from family, friends, and other hosts) play a critical protective role. Those with regular support networks reported feeling less isolated and reporting greater well-being even when they were under pressure. Many online labor platforms assume that flexibility is sufficient. However, we found that the key to host sustainability is connection, and not autonomy.
Platforms can step up
Airbnb and other platforms need to change their self-service models to one that emphasizes shared care if they want to stay viable. Here’s how that could look.
- Peer networks that have a purpose Create regional or topical online groups that are intentionally moderated. Airbnb could offer live chats and peer mentoring. For example, you can ask seasoned hosts “Ask Me Anything”. Not just forums, but real interaction.
- Integration of mental health and wellbeing: You can invite resilience coaches, or work with wellness apps like Headspace and Calm, to offer well-being support. Self-care can be encouraged by mindfulness check-ins, digital rest days or even digital rest.
- Redefined ‘success’ metrics: You can do more than just cancelling and responding quickly. Recognize consistency, warmth or creativity in the guest experience, and not just algorithms.
- Job Crafting: Showcase hosts who have redefined their roles by, for instance, adding breakfasts, tours or local activities. A “crafted” badge or spotlight can inspire others and help them feel more purposeful about their job.
- Feedback loops Introduce optional tools for reflection that will allow hosts to reflect on how they are feeling, the challenges they face, and the support they require. Next, feed this data into future platform functions.
Hosting Tips to Protect Your Well-Being
In addition to platform changes, hosts must also protect themselves against burnout or disconnection. Our findings have led us to some proven strategies.
- Space is important. It’s important to consider the set-up for those who are considering hosting. This is especially true if you know that your home and work life should be kept separate. Hosting an individual unit can help reduce stress by ensuring that the living area and entrance are separated from each other.
- Join or create your own host community Consider channels other than Airbnb’s official channels. There are many private Facebook groups, WhatsApp groups or informal local meetups that hosts can use to share tips, struggles, and ideas.
- Establish expectations in advance: It is possible to avoid much tension by simply defining boundaries. Let guests know when you are available, what time your response is or when the shared space is accessible. This will protect your wellbeing and save your valuable time. You can reduce the pressure by using tools like auto-replies, or working with a host in another time zone.
- Work with meaning: Introduce small rituals such as: sending guest notes, cultural baskets or sharing local information. These thoughtful touches can bring back pride in your hosting identity.
- Check in on your wellbeing regularly Use a weekly check-in to see if you are still enjoying the activity. Do I feel isolated or fulfilled?” Your well-being is as important as the response rate as a key performance indicator.
Independent Hospitality Work: Rethinking it
This study highlights the importance that fit plays in flexible gig work. It’s not enough to have autonomy. It’s important to consider how independence interacts with emotional bandwidth and spatial realities. We need to know what the cost is and what work this gig offers as more professionals join the gig economy.
For those in the hospitality, education, or policy-making industries, these insights reveal how behind each platform profile lies a person navigating tensions within work and personal life. It is important to design systems and support mechanisms which recognize these boundaries.
Airbnb has extended this logic to our homes. What happens when the host gets left out of hospitality? Our research shows that autonomy without support can lead to strain. The idea of host care as a shared responsibility that platforms and individuals share can preserve the best features of the peer-topeer model, without damaging the individual at its core. Supporting host is not a luxury. Instead, it’s a foundation for a sustainable hospitality eco-system.
Dr Sowon Kim – Associate professor at EHL Hospitality Business School
The original version of this article appeared on EHL Insights.
