Airbnb Books Record Revenue as Travel Demand Remains Strong
Home-sharing company logged longer stays in the third quarter despite inflation challenges
By Denny Jacob
Wall Street Journal
Updated Nov. 1, 2022 4:44 pm ET
Airbnb Inc. posted its most profitable quarter to date, with record revenue bolstering the case that travel demand remains strong despite continuing challenges from rampant inflation.
The home-sharing company said its results were driven by higher bookings in cities, stronger cross-border travel and longer stays. Airbnb said booked third-quarter nights and experiences, or activities reserved through the platform, were its highest ever, with a 25% increase.
The San Francisco company posted $2.88 billion in revenue for the quarter ended Sept. 30. Analysts expected $2.85 billion in revenue.
July through September is typically Airbnb’s busiest period, because of summer vacations.
Airbnb said it expects revenue growth to continue in the current quarter, citing a backlog of future bookings and coming bookings being canceled with less frequency—among other factors—four weeks into the period. The company forecast fourth-quarter revenue between $1.8 billion and $1.88 billion. Analysts polled by FactSet expected $1.87 billion before the issued outlook.
“As the impact of the pandemic recedes but macro conditions persist, we expect a continued, albeit choppy, recovery of cross-border travel to be a further tailwind to future results,” the company said in a letter to shareholders.
Shares in Airbnb fell more than 4% in after-hours trading Tuesday. The stock closed at $109.05, up 2%, during the regular trading session.
Airbnb logged its first profit of $1 billion or more since it went public in 2020. The company recorded a profit of $1.21 billion, topping analysts’ estimates of $1.03 billion and exceeding the year-earlier period’s profit of $834 million.
Airbnb’s number of nights and experiences booked as well as gross bookings—the value of bookings made on its platform—rose 25% and 31%, respectively, in the quarter. The number of nights and experiences fell slightly below analysts’ expectations, while gross bookings surpassed analysts’ estimates.
After the Covid-19 pandemic initially crushed Airbnb’s home-rental business, the company has rebounded strongly as more of its customers work remotely and travel restrictions are lifted. Local travel is still strong, and longer-distance and cross-border travel improved in the third quarter, Airbnb said. Stays of 28 days or more made up 20% of bookings in the quarter, flat from the same period a year earlier.
“We believe new use cases, including long-term stays and non-urban travel, are here to stay as millions of people have newfound flexibility in where they live and work,” Airbnb said in its shareholder letter.]
Write to Denny Jacob at denny.jacob@wsj.com
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