Airbnb had its best holiday season ever, with a $1.9-billion turnover in the fourth quarter of 2022 driven by “solid” growth in bookings, according to an earnings release on Tuesday.
As a result, the accommodation booking platform’s revenue rose by 24% year-on-year, despite a tough economic environment marked by inflation and massive layoffs in the USA.
Most importantly, its net profit increased almost fivefold to $319 million, well above market expectations. It was the “fourth most profitable quarter” in Airbnb’s history, the California-based group said.
Airbnb stock was up more than 9% in electronic trading after the close of the New York Stock Exchange.
6.6 million homes open for rent at the end of December
Brian Chesky, the company’s boss, was also upbeat about the current quarter, with users “booking more and more in advance.”
“Travellers have started to visit cities again and travel overseas,” he said on a conference call. This kind of travel “was Airbnb’s bread and butter before the pandemic,” he added.
The platform had 6.6 million homes open for rent at the end of December, 16% more than a year ago. These figures do not include China.
Chesky attributes the increase in supply to people’s attraction to generating extra income, “often essential in these difficult times,” but also to service improvements.
