Airbnb beats estimates with 70% revenue growth as travel rebounds

When the pandemic first hit one of the world’s most valuable start-ups saw its private value nearly halved. Now as hotels suffer but vacation rentals boom, Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky is reportedly planning to file for a long-awaited IPO.

The company gave an upbeat forecast for the second quarter as it reported better-than- expected results on Tuesday.

The shares increased in after-hours trading.

The key numbers are here.

• Loss per share: 3 cents vs 29 centsexpected by analysts, according to Refinitiv.
• Revenue: $1.51 billion vs $1.45 billion expected, according to Refinitiv.

The company said revenue in the first quarter was 70% higher than a year earlier, despite the war in Ukraine. The company's net loss narrowed to $19 million from $1.2 billion a year ago.

In the current quarter, growth is expected to stay strong. The company said revenue will be between $2 billion and $2 billion. The low end of the range would grow by over 50%.

The company said that risks to bookings include Covid outbreak, travel from the conflict in Ukraine, and consumer price sensitivity.

In the first quarter, the company reported 102.1 million nights and experiences booked. StreetAccount expected the number to come in at 100.87 million.

Travelers are booking trips further in advance. The company had more nights booked for the summer travel season at the end of April than at the beginning of the year.

In the first quarter, the gross booking value was $17.2 billion, beating Wall Street's estimate of $16.54 billion. That is up 70% year over year.

The average daily rate was $168 in the quarter, up 5% from a year ago. In the second quarter, the company expects the ADR to be flat.

The company said that Nights and Experiences Booked growth in Q2 will be a good indicator of growth in Q2 on a year-over-year basis.

Changes in the way people work and travel have helped the company. Many work-from-anywhere policies are still in place today, with workers no longer tethered to their desks and remote options becoming the norm.

Last week, the company said it would allow employees to work from anywhere in the U.S., as well as live and work in more than 170 countries.

Long-term stays of 28 days or more remained the fastest-growing category. They made up 21% of gross nights booked in the first quarter.

The company gave an update on its humanitarian efforts. Up to 100,000 refugees were offered temporary housing on the platform. More than 34,000 people signed up to offer their homes to refugees, and more than 14,000 people received temporary accommodations through the company.

The company nixed guest and host fees after people began booking listings in Ukraine with no intention of staying. In the third quarter, about 600,000 nights were booked in Ukraine, with a total of $20 million.

The company will discuss its results on a call with investors. Time. You can check back for updates.