The San Francisco group posted abysmal losses despite a good relative maintenance of its activity.
Airbnb is paying a heavy price for the crisis. The Californian platform posted a loss of 4.6 billion dollars in 2020 (3.8 billion euros). That is a little more than the European tour operator TUI for example.
In terms of the pace of activity, the seasonal rental giant has however held up better than other travel players such as Booking and large hotel groups. Following international travel restrictions last year, Airbnb was able to limit the damage thanks to the resumption of domestic tourism in many countries.
Its annual revenues are thus down 30% compared to 2019, to $ 3.3 billion. The drop is reduced to just 22% in the fourth quarter of 2020, to $ 859 million.
A capitalization greater than 100 billion
“We don’t think we will return to the world of travel before” the health crisis, co-founder Brian Chesky said Thursday at a conference with analysts. According to him, the health crisis is causing a significant increase in long-term stays, in particular thanks to the development of nomadic work.
Airbnb shares almost doubled from their IPO price, recalls the Wall Street Journal. The company’s market capitalization, which exceeds $ 100 billion, makes it worth more than Marriott International, Hilton Worldwide Holdings and Hyatt Hotels Corp combined.
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