Airbnb, the accommodation booking site, is showing record booking rates. Quarterly results reflect the “return of tourism”, the growth of remote work and the “efficiency” of the model, according to Airbnb.
Airbnb is doing better than before the pandemic. In the first three months of this year, the accommodation booking platform registered 102 million booked nights and activities (also known as “experiences”) – more than in any other quarter so far. This is a 34% increase from the same period in 2019, which Airbnb chose as its base of comparison, claiming that 2020 and 2021 have been anomalous years marked by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Bookings have exploded and the group expects strong demand through the end of the year almost everywhere in North America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America. Asia, where China and Japan remain the only two countries in the world to have been shut down since the start of the pandemic, is largely absent.
However, Airbnb’s revenue speaks for itself: it is 80% higher than in the first quarter of 2019, that is, before the pandemic, and 70% higher year-on-year, at $1.5 billion. Better than analysts’ forecasts.
The company is also confident in the volume of bookings for this summer. She even noted a record level of activity in the fourth quarter, which includes the holiday season. These results reflect the return of tourism, with Airbnb gaining market share, fueled by the efficiency of the platform model, Airbnb said.
In addition to tourism, the company is also benefiting from the new application of remote work, explained Brian Chesky, CEO. In confirmation of this trend, Airbnb announced last week that it is now allowing its employees to work from anywhere without changing their pay, even if they do it from a place where the cost of living is lower.