Trust mediates the effect of positive facial expressions on rental intention when using accommodation-sharing platforms

Sharing accommodation creates a sense of home between hosts and guests, and fosters interactivity and interpersonal relationships. To clarify how host images influence guests’ rental intention, we evaluated the effect of the host’s facial expression and analyzed the psychological mechanism of trust in 3 studies. The conceptual model was verified through data mining in Study 1 and by conducting a simulation in Studies 2 and 3. The results show that a host’s positive expression increased guest rental intention and that this effect was mediated by trust. Practical and theoretical implications of the results are discussed.