Airbnb and the Costs of Emotional Labor in Havana, Cuba

• In Event: Uncovering Emotional Labor and Care Work in Gig Economy Systems

Abstract

Private home rentals have been popular in Cuba since 1997, but the introduction of Airbnb in 2015 has changed many aspects of the tourism landscape; for example, how hosts are able to advertise their listings, or how neighbors experience tourism in their everyday lives. In this preliminary study, we draw on ethnographic methods from fieldwork in Havana to argue that a proliferation of Airbnb listings places pressure on locals in the city- hosts and nonhosts alike- to perform emotional labor in the interest of accommodating and welcoming tourists and guests. In this way, Airbnb intensifies and extends the working day by enrolling local Cubans into the work of emotional labor.

Author

• David Nemer, University of Virginia