Mapping Airbnb prices in a small city: A geographically weighted approach for Macau tourist attractions

작은 도시에 에어비앤비 가격지도: 지리가중접근법 활용한 마카오 관광지에 대한 분석

The objectives of this research are to test the utility of semiparametric geographically weighted regression (SGWR, a spatial analysis method) in the small-scale urban sample, and to understand the geographic patterns of provision and pricing of sharing economy based accommodations in the tourist city. This paper focused on how network distance to heritage site, to casino, residential unit prices and other five attribute categories determine Airbnb price in Macau SAR, China. Findings show that SGWR models outperformed OLS models. Moreover, comparing with heritage sites, casinos are the stronger factors to drive up Airbnb (including hostels) rooms' provision and their prices; and residential unit prices are not related with the Airbnb price in the attraction clusters in Macau. This research showed a little example for the applications of SGWR in the small city, and for the analysis of online marketplace data as new urban study material. Practically, this study provides some scientific evidence for hosts, guests, urban planners, and policymakers' decision making in Macau.