May I sleep in your bed? Getting permission to book

•Peer-to-peer accommodation networks have radically new features.•One is that tourists have to ask permission to be able to book accommodation.•Hosts on peer-to-peer accommodation networks frequently reject booking requests.•Rejection is systematically associated with specific features of the guest.•Rejection is systematically associated with specific features of the inquiry.

Demand for tourist accommodation offered on peer-to-peer networks is skyrocketing. In such networks tourists can only book if the accommodation provider (host) gives their permission. Needing permission to book accommodation is radically new in tourism. No hotel, motel or B&B assesses a booking inquiry in detail before accepting their booking. But do peer-to-peer network hosts actually refuse permission to book and, if so, why? A choice experiment with Airbnb hosts shows that refusing permission to book is common and that specific attributes of the booking inquiry-such as the purpose of their trip-affect the likelihood of getting permission to book.