What property attributes are important to UK university students in their online accommodation search?

Purpose: This paper examines the categories of property attributes that are important to UK university students in their online accommodation search. It also analyses the volume of information displayed regarding the property attributes and explores the influence of some of the information provided on the attractiveness and by extension, the booking potential of the property.

Design/methodology/approach: The authors use data from an online student accommodation listing platform – student.com – which contain tangible and non-tangible property attributes, and the data are analysed using a hedonic regression model.

Findings: The results show that purpose-built student accommodation's (PBSA) tangible and intangible attributes are important to students in their online accommodation search, although, these attributes vary in impact. The study also reveals that failure to display key information of a PBSA may reduce the attractiveness of the property.

Originality/value: The empirical evidence on student accommodation ex ante preferences and choices is limited, particularly as it relates to online accommodation search in a UK context. The authors' approach to identify the application of the search theory to the student accommodation search process is particularly unique.