The power of language: Other-focused linguistic style and sales performance on home-sharing platforms

On home-sharing platforms, hosts write self-claimed descriptions with the differential focus of their attention. Some use a self-focused linguistic style with first-person pronouns (e.g., “I” and “my”), whereas others use an other-focused linguistic style (OFLS) with second-person pronouns (e.g., “you” and “your”). Building on signaling theory and the stereotype content model (SCM), we explore how OFLS influences sales performance. In Study 1, we analyzed 228,078 observations from 33,710 Airbnb listings and found that OFLS positively influence sales, especially for hosts with higher reputation status and properties that appeal to home seekers and business travelers (versus leisure travelers). In Study 2, we conducted a randomized experiment to uncover that OFLS promotes sales by signaling warmth and competence. Our work contributes to the literature by revealing the sales effect of OFLS and provides implications for practitioners to boost sales on home-sharing platforms.