AP – Airbnb said on Thursday that it narrowed its second-quarter loss to USD68 million and gave a bullish forecast for revenue, but the company warned that new variants of COVID-19 will make future bookings and cancellations harder to predict.
Airbnb said vaccinations, the containment of COVID-19 variants and restrictions on global travel will affect bookings for the rest of the year.
“We do not yet know how willing people will be to travel in the fall as compared to summer,” the company told shareholders.
The San Francisco-based home-sharing company’s stock fell nearly five per cent in extended trading.
Airbnb’s business has picked up along with the recovery in travel that, at least in the United States (US), as Americans began to get vaccinated against the coronavirus early this year. Many vacationers have looked to avoid crowds and steer clear of hotels, creating an advantage for Airbnb and rival Vrbo.
The home-sharing companies are less reliant than hotels on business travellers, who have been much slower to get back on the road.
However, like airlines, the home-rental companies face new uncertainty because of the recent surge in COVID-19 infections. Last week, Expedia Inc, which owns Vrbo, reported that travel dipped and cancellation rates rose in July, and that the outlook for travel remains uncertain.
Despite the precarious state of the pandemic, Airbnb expects to post record revenue in the third quarter, “well above” the 2019 peak of USD1.65 billion. That is based on a sharp rise in unearned fees, or revenue that — based on bookings — the company expects to receive after customers check in.
The company is spending heavily to recruit new hosts. Chief Executive Officer Brian Chesky said it is tweaking its product to appeal to people who are increasingly flexible about when and where they travel and who combine work and leisure for long trips.
Airbnb said that stays of at least 28 days are its fastest-growing category.
“Flexibility is now a permanent part of travel,” Chesky said on a call with analysts.
