by Vijaylakshmi
Accommodation companies in the first quarter have seen the demand for travel in regions outside of North America boost earnings as travel accelerates in Asia-Pacific and Latin America.
Airbnb’s first-quarter revenue rose 18 per centyear-over-year to USD 2.14 billion. However, the company forecast second-quarter revenue between USD 2.68 billion and USD 2.74 billion, below analysts’ estimates of USD 2.74 billion, due in part to currency exchange rates and the timing of the Easter holiday.
The holiday was beneficial to the first quarter as more people traveled, but it may weigh on bookings in the second quarter, the company said.
“We’d like to deliver higher growth than stable growth, but our outlook obviously reflects the trends that we have seen quarter-to-date,” Chief Financial Officer Ellie Mertz said on a call with analysts.
Nights and experiences booked in the first quarter increased 9.5 per cent year-over-year to about 133 million driven by a 21 per cent and 19 per cent growth in bookings in Asia-Pacific and Latin America, respectively. The company said bookings in North America “slightly decelerated” during the quarter.
The San Francisco-based company reported net income of USD 264 million, or 41 cents per share, for the quarter ended March, which beat analyst expectations of 24 cents per share, according to LSEG.
The average cost per night in an Airbnb or average daily rate was USD 173 in the reported quarter, a 3 per cent rise compared to the year prior. The company saw an increase in shorter stays and bookings of entire homes which drove margin growth.
Active listings on the platform grew 17 per cent year-over-year with Asia and Latin America leading the additions.
During China’s Labour Day holiday last week, Laura Li, 28, and her cousin Diego Deng, 20, from northeastern Liaoning province, were among the younger visitors to Hong Kong who preferred to follow walking guides on social media rather than join tour groups or shop in luxury stores. The Chinese social media platform Xiaohongshu, also known as Little Red Book, is the must-have app for China’s Generation Z – the 280 million people born between 1995 and 2010 – to explore Hong Kong neighbourhoods and offers travel tips to tourists.
Looking ahead to the summer, Airbnb said it expects year-over-year revenue growth to accelerate in the third quarter due in part to travel demand centered around international events like the Olympics and Euro Cup.
