Airbnb lifts outlook despite war concerns

Airbnb reported mixed first-quarter results, with revenue up 18% year on year and net income at US$160 million.

The company also warned that the war involving Iran is hurting demand in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia Pacific due to higher cancellations, flight disruptions, and regional uncertainty.

Gross booking value rose 19% to US$29.2 billion, while nights and seats booked increased 9% to 156.2 million, both exceeding analyst estimates.

Adjusted EBITDA reached US$519 million, above the US$485 million expected by LSEG.

Airbnb forecast second-quarter revenue of US$3.54 billion to US$3.60 billion, above the US$3.46 billion analysts expected.

However, the company said the conflict would create a 100-basis-point drag on bookings and slow growth from the first quarter.

It raised its full-year revenue growth outlook to the low to mid teens from 12%.

🔗 Source: CNBC

🧠 Food for thought

Implications, context, and why it matters.

Product updates are helping Airbnb grow alongside travel demand

Airbnb’s recent results are coming from product changes as well as wider travel trends 1.
Reserve Now, Pay Later (RNPL), simpler fees, and more flexible cancellation terms added an estimated three percentage points to gross booking value in the first quarter 1.
RNPL lets travelers book right away and pay later. It now makes up about 20% of global gross booking value 1.
Those changes are bringing in more newcomers. Growth in first-time bookers reached 10%, the fastest pace since 2022, with strong gains in Brazil, Japan, and India 1.

Airbnb is using AI and large events to expand

Airbnb is reworking its operations with AI. Nearly 60% of the code its engineers produce now comes from AI, said Brian Chesky, CEO of Airbnb 1.
An AI assistant now handles more than 40% of customer support cases without human help. That helped lower cost per booking by about 10% from a year earlier 1.
Its hotel business is growing at more than twice the pace of the wider company. More than 55% of guests who book a hotel on Airbnb later return to book a home 1.
Airbnb is also using events such as the FIFA World Cup 2026 to add supply. Since outreach began in October, more than 100,000 homes have been listed on Airbnb for the first time 1.