Strong Q1 numbers for Airbnb as it breaks 100 million room night barrier
US: Airbnb has reported strong Q1 results and recorded 102.1 million nights and experiences booked in the first quarter, the first time it has hit the 100 million mark.
The figure was an increase of 26 per cent compared with Q12019, and excluding Asia Pacific it was up almost 40 per cent. Gross bookings were $17.2 billion, compared with analysts’ expectation of $16.6 billion and up 73 per cent on 2019.
The company’s shares rose 7.7 per cent on the announcement, which revealed a net loss of $19 million compared with $1.2 billion in Q1 2021.
Airbnb said revenue will be between $2.03 billion and $2.13 billion, topping analysts’ average estimate of $1.96 billion. The low end of the range would represent growth of 52%.
“Two years into the pandemic, Airbnb is substantially stronger than ever before,” executives wrote in a letter to shareholders.
However, it said that risks to bookings include “additional Covid outbreaks, any impact to travel from the conflict in Ukraine, and consumer price sensitivity.”
Average daily rates rose five per cent from a year ago to $168. The company anticipates ADR to be flat in the second quarter on a year-over-year basis.
Growth for gross nights booked was strongest in non-urban areas during Q1, compared to the same period in 2019. But Airbnb said it is also seeing “strong signs” that travellers are returning to cities. Gross nights booked to high-density urban areas grew 80 per cent from a year ago.
