Airbnb and many other companies suffered significant losses due to the pandemic. However, the company surpassed expectations in the first quarter and gave an upbeat forecast for the second quarter, as Airbnb sees a rebound in travel coming out of the pandemic.
The company’s revenue in the first quarter of the year jumped 70% from a year earlier, despite pandemic concerns and the war in Ukraine. Its net loss narrowed to $19 million from $1.2 billion in the same quarter a year ago.
Moreover, growth is expected to stay strong in the current quarter. The company said revenue will be between $2.03 billion and $2.13 billion, surpassing analysts’ average estimate of $1.96 billion.
Nevertheless, Airbnb said that risks to bookings include the pandemic, etc.
Airbnb and its results
For the first quarter of the year, the company reported 102.1 million nights and experiences booked, surpassing pre-pandemic levels.
Hopefully, travelers are also becoming increasingly confident in booking trips further in advance. At the end of the last month, Airbnb had 30% more nights booked for the summer travel season than at the same time in 2019.
Gross booking value, which the company uses to track host earnings, service fees, cleaning fees and taxes, totaled $17.2 billion in the first quarter.
Average daily rates rose 5% in the first quarter of 2022 from a year ago to $168. Airbnb anticipates ADR to be flat in the second quarter on a year-over-year basis.
The company benefited from changes in the way people work and travel caused by the pandemic. Employees were no longer tethered to their desks and remote options became the norm.
Airbnb also embraces a work-from-anywhere policy. The company said last week it would allow its employees to work from wherever they want in the U.S. Starting in September, Airbnb’s employees can also live and work in more than 170 countries for up to 90 days a year in each location.
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