Airbnb Forecasts Lower Third-Quarter Revenue as Economic Worries Slow Demand

Airbnb forecast third-quarter revenue below estimates on Tuesday and warned of shorter booking windows, suggesting travelers were waiting until the last minute to book due to economic uncertainty, sending its shares down about 16.26 per cent after the bell.

Domestic travel in the United States has been pressured since the start of the year as more Americans have grown cautious about travel spending on worries about the health of the U.S. economy.

San Francisco-based Airbnb reported quarterly profit of $555 million, or 86 cents per share, compared to $650 million, or 98 cents per share last year.

It expects third-quarter revenue to be between $3.67 billion and $3.73 billion, below analysts' estimate of $3.84 billion, according to LSEG data.

The company expects moderating growth in nights booked in the third quarter and said it was experiencing shorter booking lead times globally.

Booking lead time is an important metric in the travel industry and refers to the number of days between the reservation date and actual arrival. A shorter booking window can indicate consumers are booking travel at the last minute, due to increased uncertainty and caution in spending.

Travel reservations provider Booking also said earlier this month that lead times had shrunk in the second quarter and were expected to shrink further in the third.

Airbnb's average daily rate, or cost per night, grew about 2 per cent, to $169.53 in the reported quarter. The vacation rental company expects ADR to grow modestly in the third quarter.

Net income margin, or the profit the company made for every dollar of revenue generated, decreased to 20 per cent in the second quarter, compared to 26 per cent a year ago.

Nights and experiences booked numbered 125.1 million, up 9 per cent from last year. Globally, nights and experiences booked in Latin America and Asia-Pacific saw the highest growth, jumping by 17 per cent and 19 per cent, respectively.

The company reported a gross bookings value of $21.2 billion, up 11 per cent from a year ago.

Total revenue for the quarter ended June 30 was $2.75 billion, up 11 per cent from a year earlier.