Customers of the short-term home rental company stay longer and pay higher prices.
Airbnb Inc forecast better-than-expected first-quarter revenue on Tuesday after the short-term home rental company reported strong quarterly results on increased domestic travel and longer stays by customers at higher prices.
The San Francisco, Calif., U.S.-based company expects current-quarter revenue of between $1.41 billion and $1.48 billion, ahead of analyst estimates of $1.24 billion. dollars, according to Refinitiv IBES data.
While Airbnb was initially impacted by the coronavirus pandemic, its business quickly rebounded as people moved closer to home where they stayed longer to work remotely. The trend has continued since, with “raw non-urban nights” booked up about 45% in the fourth quarter compared to 2019.
“Nearly half of our nights booked in the fourth quarter were for stays of a week or longer. One in five nights booked were for stays of a month or longer,” the company said.
Strong demand also helped push up prices charged by hosts, with average daily rates in the fourth quarter up 20% to $154. The company expects higher rates to bolster first-quarter results.
Airbnb was also boosted by pent-up travel demand, with the hospitality industry ignoring the temporary impact of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus.
Earlier on Tuesday, Marriott International Inc reported results that beat Wall Street estimates and the hotel chain said the travel recovery remained intact.
Airbnb, which is not particularly reliant on major cities to generate revenue, expects first-quarter bookings to significantly exceed pre-pandemic levels, leading to record gross booking value.
The fourth quarter was helped by strong bookings in North America and Latin America compared to 2019, but Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia-Pacific regions were a drag, according to the company. .
Airbnb reported revenue of $1.53 billion, compared to estimates of $1.46 billion.
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