Investors who had expected far more amid the booming summer demand from pandemic weary travelers are disappointed after Vacation rental Airbnb Inc on Tuesday forecast bookings for the current quarter which is at par with the record-breaking previous one.
It has been witnessed that the rates of booking slowed in May and June from April. As travelers across Europe and North America made reservations at the earliest possible time to visit their favorite tourist spots which could be both domestic as well as international, hence it was the biggest contributor to the bumper second quarter. However, flight disruptions became one of the challenges towards this, especially in the United States, towards the end of the quarter, Airbnb Chief Financial Officer Dave Stephenson told analysts on a call.
Flights canceled
Thousands of flights had been canceled over the four-day Memorial Day weekend that marks the traditional start of the busy summer travel season because the major U.S. carriers are battling with operational challenges and staff shortages.
Reuters reported, “Airbnb also announced a $2 billion share buyback, its first since going public, but that did little to arrest an 8% slide in its shares after hours. The stock has lost about 30% this year in tandem with a downturn in global markets driven by growing recession risks.”
“Still, the company is yet to show signs of strain from rising inflation as consumers shrug off decades-high prices of food and other essentials in favor of their pent-up desire to travel.
Average daily rates for Airbnb were up 1% to $164 in the quarter as the strong demand encouraged hosts to charge more.”
Expectations from San Francisco-based Airbnb
There is an expectation from San Francisco-based Airbnb that current-quarter revenue can range between $2.78 billion and $2.88 billion, higher than analysts’ estimates of $2.77 billion, according to Refinitiv IBES.
It thus, has reported a net profit of 56 cents per share, ahead of estimates of 43 cents.
