Leading hospitality company Airbnb (ABNB) recorded a strong performance in the third quarter (Q3) of 2023, as shown in the increase in bookings and gross booking value (GBV).
According to the Airbnb Q3 report, nights and experiences booked exceeded 113 million, growing 14 percent year-on-year (YoY). This brings this year’s total bookings to 349 million as of September 2023. This figure already surpasses the pre-pandemic 2019 levels, which reached 307 million.
In terms of GBV, Airbnb has already hit $58 billion since the start of the year. Similar to the number of bookings, this already exceeds the $38 billion GBV that the company recorded in 2019.
With this, the company is on track to outperform its 2022 figures. Last year, it posted $63 billion in GBV and 394 million in the nights and experiences booked.
Most profitable quarter
Thanks to a robust performance in bookings, the Airbnb Q3 report saw the company’s revenues reach $3.4 billion. This reflects an 18 percent YoY increase. However, this becomes a 14 percent increase if foreign exchange effects are excluded. Meanwhile, its net income reached $4.4 billion or $1.6 billion when excluding a one-time income tax benefit.
Furthermore, the adjusted EBITDA surpassed $1.8 billion. Meanwhile, Free Cash Flow demonstrated substantial growth, surging by 37 percent YoY to hit $1.3 billion.
“Our Q3 results highlight a record travel season on Airbnb and our most profitable quarter ever,” stated Airbnb Co-Founder and CEO Brian Chesky.
He added, “Over the last nine months, we’ve added nearly 1 million listings globally and we continue to see demand for travel grow.”
Read: Global tourists could reach 516 million before 2023 ends
Tourism resurgence
The Airbnb Q3 report shows promise. And Airbnb bookings this 2023 are only expected to expand, driven by the continued resurgence in tourism.
In 2022, the global tourism industry made a remarkable rebound, with international tourist arrivals more than doubling compared to the previous two years. According to estimates from the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), international tourist arrivals could reach between 80 and 95 percent of pre-pandemic levels this year.
In 2022, international tourist arrivals in Europe and the Middle East were already within 20 percent of 2019 figures. In the same year, the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region led the world in Airbnb bookings, with a total of 168 million reservations.
Even before the global tourism rebound in 2022, Airbnb had already recognized an opportunity arising from the unique circumstances brought forth by the pandemic.
In early 2022, the company stated, “We are undergoing the biggest change to travel since the advent of commercial flying.” The rise of remote work has freed many individuals from daily office routines, enabling them to work from anywhere. Consequently, in Q4 2021, one in five nights booked on Airbnb were for stays lasting a month or more. In addition to this, nearly 175,000 guests booked stays of three months or longer in 2021.
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