Some Airbnb host communities display the characteristics of neo-tribes. The neo-tribe literature offers rich insights into the life of a neo-tribe, but their formation and ongoing functioning remain underresearched. This paper investigates these issues using a netnographic approach that explored the formation and practices of a Tasmanian Airbnb Host Forum. The results reveal the reason for its formation and the functions of the neo-tribe, particularly as a support mechanism for hosts and defiance against perceived marginalisation by the tourism industry that has refused to embrace hosts; residents who viewed hosts as traitors; the government who regulates their entrepreneurial activities; and the media who vilified them. This study contributes to theory by developing knowledge on the stages of neo-tribal formation, and the influence that these stages have upon the ongoing function of the tribe.

Item Type:	Refereed Article
Keywords:	neo-tribes, host, Airbnb, peer-to-peer accommodation networks, defiance
Research Division:	Commerce, Management, Tourism and Services
Research Group:	Tourism
Research Field:	Tourist behaviour and visitor experience
Objective Division:	Commercial Services and Tourism
Objective Group:	Tourism services
Objective Field:	Socio-cultural issues in tourism
UTAS Author:	Hardy, A (Associate Professor Anne Hardy)
UTAS Author:	Vorobjovas-Pinta, O (Dr Oscar Vorobjovas-Pinta)
ID Code:	141557
Year Published:	2021 (online first 2020)
Web of Science® Times Cited:	7
Deposited By:	Office of the School of Social Sciences
Deposited On:	2020-10-28
Last Modified:	2022-02-26
Downloads:	0