Airbnb posts $117 million 1Q profit as revenue grows by 20%

Airbnb said Tuesday that it earned $117 million in the first quarter, as rentals and revenue jumped again during an ongoing recovery in travel and a trend of more people working remotely.

It was the first time that the short-term rental giant earned a profit in the first three months of the year, a seasonally slow period for travel.

The San Francisco-based company’s profit compared with a loss of $19 million a year earlier and worked out to 18 cents per share.

Revenue climbed 20% to $1.82 billion, beating Wall Street’s forecast of $1.79 billion, according to a FactSet survey.

Nights and experiences booked, a closely watched measurement for Airbnb, increased 19% to 121 million, and the company valued the bookings made in the quarter at $20.4 billion, a 19% increase.

In a letter to shareholders, Airbnb said its revenue and the gross value of bookings are both double what they were before the pandemic.

Airbnb is getting a lift from people who are traveling while they take advantage of the ability to work remotely and stay away from the office. More of those people are booking international stays. The company said cross-border bookings grew 36% over last year’s first quarter, helped by travel to and within the Asia-Pacific region and bookings into North America.

The average nightly rate paid by Airbnb customers was $168, level with a year earlier, the company said. Price hikes in some places were offset by a slight shift toward in-city rentals, which tend to be lower in price than whole-house rentals in beach and mountain destinations.