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% UQO Working Paper No. 4
% Hedonic Pricing of Short-Term Rental Properties:
% A Multi-Method Analysis of Airbnb Listing Prices in Quebec
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  pdftitle    = {Hedonic Pricing of Short-Term Rental Properties: A Multi-Method Analysis of Airbnb Listing Prices in Quebec},
  pdfauthor   = {Simon-Pierre Boucher}
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% METADATA
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\newcommand{\WPnumber}{4}
\newcommand{\WPtitle}{Hedonic Pricing of Short-Term Rental Properties: A Multi-Method Analysis of Airbnb Listing Prices in Quebec}
\newcommand{\WPsubtitle}{}
\newcommand{\WPdate}{May 2026}
\newcommand{\WPversion}{1.0}
\newcommand{\WPabstract}{%
This paper develops a comprehensive hedonic pricing model for short-term
rental properties listed on Airbnb across Quebec, Canada. Drawing on
\citet{Rosen1974} and \citet{Lancaster1966}, we decompose nightly prices
into implicit valuations of structural characteristics, amenity bundles,
host attributes, reputation signals, locational factors, and text-derived
features. Our dataset comprises 5,000 listings from Inside Airbnb, of
which 3,412 retain valid prices after cleaning. We employ a layered
econometric strategy: nine nested OLS specifications with HC3 robust
standard errors, progressing from a structural-only model ($R^2 = 0.052$)
to a full specification with spatial controls ($R^2 = 0.274$); quantile
regression at $\tau \in \{0.10, 0.25, 0.50, 0.75, 0.90\}$ revealing
heterogeneity across the price distribution; machine learning
methods---XGBoost ($R^2 = 0.285$), Random Forest, Gradient Boosting,
LightGBM---with SHAP interpretability; and spatial econometric
models---spatial lag, spatial error, and spatial Durbin
specifications---accounting for spatial dependence. Bedrooms, room type,
review scores, spatial context, and amenity indices are the dominant
price determinants, with their relative importance shifting across
quantiles and geographic sub-markets.%
}
\newcommand{\WPkeywords}{hedonic pricing, Airbnb, short-term rentals, quantile regression, spatial econometrics, machine learning, SHAP, Quebec, amenity valuation}
\newcommand{\WPjel}{C21, C31, C45, C58, L83, R31, R33}

% --- Author ---
\newcommand{\WPauthor}{Simon-Pierre Boucher}
\newcommand{\WPaffiliation}{%
  D\'epartement des sciences administratives\\
  Universit\'e du Qu\'ebec en Outaouais%
}
\newcommand{\WPemail}{simon-pierre.boucher@uqo.ca}
\newcommand{\WPaddress}{%
  Gatineau -- Pavillon Alexandre-Tach\'e\\
  283, boulevard Alexandre-Tach\'e\\
  Gatineau, Qu\'ebec, Canada J9A 1L8%
}

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