Published - August 4th, 2023 @ 3:22 PM (GMT+2)
Airbnb's (NASDAQ:ABNB) Q2 of 2023 it marked a significant milestone with the highest number of nights and experiences booked in the company's history. Gross booking value rose 13% to $19.1 billion, surpassing analysts' $18.99 billion consensus. Nights and occasions booked increased by 11% from last year to 115.1 million, although this was slightly below the 117.6 million StreetAccount consensus.
Regional Growth & Pricing Strategy:
The San Francisco-based firm grew in all regions, with Asia Pacific notching the most substantial increase. However, a move to mitigate price hikes led to a 1% uptick in the average daily rate globally and a 1% decrease in North America. The gross booking value per night was up 1% year over year at $166.01.
Analysts have noted that demand for hotels in the U.S. has remained subdued as Americans opt to take advantage of lifted movement restrictions and a stronger U.S. dollar to go abroad for their holidays. Airbnb's affordable option, Rooms, introduced during the quarter, has been a strategic move to cater to this trend.
Q3 Guidance & Future Prospects:
For the third quarter, Airbnb guided to revenue of $3.3 billion to $3.4 billion, above consensus, expecting a modest sequential increase in year-over-year growth in nights and experiences booked. Management continues to see opportunities for revenue growth, with CEO Brian Chesky highlighting potential services and advertising platforms that could be added.
Technology Integration:
Airbnb has expressed interest in refining its service using OpenAI's GPT-4 large language model. Chesky mentioned the possibility of using this technology to make the company's customer service department more compelling, potentially handling future support requests without human agents.
Market Performance:
Despite marginal lowering in premarket trading, Airbnb shares have risen about 64% this year, outperforming the S&P 500 stock index, which is up 17% over the same period.
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