Airbnb confident on revenue as travel demand defies recession fears

Airbnb confident on revenue as travel demand defies recession fears

(Reuters) -Airbnb Inc on Tuesday forecast current-quarter revenue above Wall Street estimates as demand for travel shows little signs of cooling off, sending its shares up about 11% in extended trading.

A stronger U.S. dollar and reopening of closed borders have empowered consumers to spend more on travel even as recession fears have sparked concerns over discretionary spending.

Airbnb said travel demand continues to be strong in the first quarter despite recessionary fears sparking concerns around consumer spending.

“Were particularly encouraged by European guests booking their summer travel earlier this year,” Airbnb said.

The company forecast first-quarter revenue between $1.75 billion and $1.82 billion, higher than analysts expectations of $1.69 billion, as per Refinitiv data.

It expects to maintain last years margins in 2023, as it expects to keep costs in check.

It also forecast that average rates for its rentals would fall slightly in the current quarter and remain pressured through 2023, as vacationers return to lower-cost urban rentals.

Revenue rose 24% to $1.90 billion during the holiday quarter ended December, lower than the preceding two quarters, but beat analysts average estimate of $1.86 billion.

Meanwhile, fourth-quarter average daily rates fell 1% to $153 and bookings rose 20% to $13.5 billion, below analysts average expectation of $13.69 billion.

Airbnb reported a quarterly net profit of $319 million, or 48 cents per share, compared with a profit of $55 million, or 8 cents per share, a year earlier.

(Reporting by Aishwarya Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli)

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