Airbnb posts record second-quarter revenue of $379 million on revenue of $2.1 billion

Airbnb says its financial results for the second quarter of this year prove that the company “has achieved large-scale growth and profitability”.

It was the company’s second most profitable quarter in its history – with revenue of $379 million, an improvement of nearly $700 million from the second quarter of 2019.

Revenue for the quarter was $2.1 billion, up 58% from the same period a year earlier and 73% from the second quarter of 2019.

The company attributes the revenue growth to both growth in “Booked Nights and Experiences” and high daily rates.

Number of room nights and experiences booked, representing the sum of total room nights booked for stays and seats booked for experiences, net of cancellations and changes, was nearly 104 million, up 25 % year over year. Airbnb says this growth was driven by bookings in North America, EMEA and Latin America.

Gross value of bookings, the dollar value of all those bookings, was $17 billion, up 27% year over year.

Adjusted EBITDA also increased in the second quarter – more than triple last year’s second quarter to $711 million, and a significant improvement from a $43 million loss in the second quarter of 2019.

While growth remains strongest in non-urban areas, Airbnb says it is now seeing clear signs of travelers returning to cities. Gross nights booked in high-density urban areas accounted for 47% of gross nights booked in the second quarter, surpassing Q2 2019 levels. Longer stays of 28 days or more also remain strong, accounting for 19% of gross nights booked in the second quarter, compared to 13% in the second quarter of 2019 and stable compared to the second quarter of last year.

Airbnb says it generated $795 million in free cash flow during the quarter, an improvement of $1.1 billion from the second quarter of 2020, at the start of the pandemic, and announces a share buyback program of $2 billion.

In a letter to shareholders, Airbnb says the quarterly results indicate a “massive transformation of our business,” attributed to offering “nearly every type of space in nearly every location” so it can adapt to changes in demand.

In his latest platform updatein May, Airbnb allowed stays of at least one week and up to six months to be split between two properties, and it added a suite of “AirCover” protections for guests, following a similar launch of protections for hosts six months earlier.

“For hosts with an AirCover claim, the Net Promoter Score increased by nearly 70 points,” the company says in its letter to shareholders.

“On May 11, we introduced AirCover for guests, which protects them in the event a host cancels or the listing doesn’t match the description. Since its launch, the Net Promoter Score for guests who have had an issue with their stay has already improved, and in the rare event a host cancels, AirCover for guests has resulted in 10% more new bookings.

During a call with analysts to discuss the results, co-founder and CEO Brian Chesky expressed his appreciation for the co-founder Joe Gebbia, who announced in July that he was resigning of his full-time operating role within the company.

“What I’m most grateful for is that we’re still together, that we still meet every Sunday. … We built a dream together, and now, after all these years, we’re still dreaming,” Chesky says.

Chesky also talked about efforts to simplify host onboarding. Airbnb currently has four million hosts, but Chesky says there are “millions more” who can make their properties available on the platform and the company is developing “new products” and protections to improve. the host experience.

“Ways to really try to entice ordinary people, with their primary residences, who want to host occasionally to host on Airbnb,” he says.

“Airbnb was founded during a recession – the financial crisis of 2008 – people were worried about being able to pay their bills, pay for their house, and so they turned to accommodations and we think a lot of people might turn again towards hosting. So this is a great opportunity for us.”

Looking ahead, Airbnb says in the third quarter it expects year-over-year growth in nights and experiences booked to be flat with year-over-year growth recorded. in the second quarter, and it expects average daily rates to be slightly higher compared to the third quarter of 2021.

On revenue, Airbnb says it expects its quarterly revenue and adjusted EBITDA to be the highest ever in the third quarter, with revenue between $2.78 billion and $2.88 billion. .