Airbnb sees record bookings despite recession fears

CNN

Airbnb reported Tuesday strong revenue growth, and a record number of bookings for the first three month period of the year. This is a sign the demand for travel continues to be strong despite the lingering fears about the recession.

The company's revenue for the third quarter increased by 20%, to $1.8 billion. This was just a little bit more than Wall Street expected. The company reported that the number of nights and experiences booked through its platform reached a record-high last quarter.

Brian Chesky, CEO of Airbnb, said in a Tuesday call with analysts that'more guests are travelling on Airbnb than ever.' We've seen the highest number of bookings ever, despite macroeconomic uncertainty.

He added that guests booked trips in advance during the quarter. This helped to create a backlog of bookings for Q2. We were particularly encouraged by the continuing recovery in Asia Pacific, as nights booked during q1 rose more than 40% from year to year.

Airbnb reported a net profit of $117 million compared to the net loss for the same period in 2017.

In a letter sent to shareholders on Tuesday, the company stated that they were now twice as big as before the pandemic in terms of revenue and GBV (gross book value).

Airbnb shares fell as much as 10 percent in Tuesday's after-hours trade, despite the positive earnings report. The company had reported a weaker forecast for the current quarter compared to what some analysts expected.

Airbnb stated in its letter to its shareholders that it had also moved the timing of marketing expenditures to the first six months of the year, to support the summer peak travel season. Airbnb is increasing its marketing investments in more countries.