Airbnb attributed its better-than-expected earnings results to the rebound in travel and tourism in the U.S. and abroad. The company released its first-quarter earnings report Tuesday, beating average analysts' expectations for the period.
For its first quarter, Airbnb reported total revenue of $1.51 billion, higher than the $1.45 billion expected by Wall Street. Revenue was a significant 70% higher than what the company had reported over the same period last year. The company said even with the war in Ukraine and significant "macroeconomic headwinds," it still managed to report a net loss of $19 million for the quarter, much lower than the $1.2 billion loss it reported last year.
Following the release of its earnings report and an upbeat forecast for the coming quarters, the company's share price surged by more than 6% in after-hours trading.
Over the quarter, Airbnb said it had booked around 102.1 million stays, signifying its return to pre-pandemic levels. The figure was higher than the 100.87 million bookings expected by analysts.
Airbnb said travelers are now getting more comfortable with arranging bookings in advance. The company said it had 30% more nights booked for the summer travel season at the end of April than at the same time last year.
Airbnb's gross booking value, which tracks host revenues, service fees, cleaning fees, and taxes, totaled $17.2 billion in the first quarter, beating Wall Street's expectation of $16.54 billion. This was also a 67% increase over the previous year.
The company said long-term stays of 28 days or more remained the fastest-growing trip duration category. In the first quarter, they accounted for 21% of gross nights booked. When compared to the same quarter last year, growth in gross nights booked was largest in non-urban regions. However, Airbnb claims to be seeing strong indicators of guests returning to large cities. Gross nights booked in high-density metropolitan regions increased by 80% year over year.
Airbnb has profited from changes in how people work and travel during much of the pandemic. Remote working became the norm, with many work-from-anywhere rules continuing to be in effect today. Airbnb said last week that its workers would be able to work from anywhere, and starting in September, employees will be able to live and work in over 170 countries for up to 90 days every year.
During its earnings call, the company provided an update on its humanitarian activities in Ukraine. Airbnb said it provided up to 100,000 people escaping the war for free. More than 14,000 people in Europe have gotten temporary housing through Airbnb, and more than 34,000 people have signed up to offer their homes to refugees.
