Human capital and sustainability challenges for Airbnb Bed and Breakfast lifestyle entrepreneurs

Abstract

The Swedish island of Gotland in the Baltic Sea is a well-known tourist destination, visited annually by almost 2 million tourists. Among the different types of accommodation available to visitors, Bed and Breakfast (B&B) on the Airbnb platform have become very popular. This exploratory study discusses how the human capital of some B&B lifestyle entrepreneurs affects their plans and practices of sustainability. Human capital theory (Becker, G. (1964). Human Capital. The University of Chicago Press.) is discussed by intersecting it with a sociological perspective represented by the two main Bordieuan forms of capital, namely cultural and social capital (1986 and 1992). The research is based on data collected between June 2017 and October 2020 through semi-structured interviews and field observation of fourteen rural B&B lifestyle entrepreneurs listed on Airbnb. Results show that participants’ cultural capital is high and constantly developing through the acquisition of new knowledge on sustainable measures that can be applied to their businesses. Their current social capital in Gotland, on the other hand, is still quite underdeveloped.