Airbnb posts record Q2 income of $379M on $2.1B revenue

Airbnb says its financial results for the second quarter of this year prove the company “has achieved growth and profitability at scale.”

This was the company’s most profitable Q2 in its history – with income of $379 million, nearly a $700 million improvement from Q2 of 2019.

Revenue in the quarter was $2.1 billion, up 58% compared to the same period a year earlier and up 73% compared to Q2 of 2019.

The company attributes the revenue growth to both growth in “Nights and Experiences booked,” and strong daily rates.

Nights and Experiences booked, representing the sum of the total number of nights booked for stays and seats booked for experiences, net of cancellations and alterations, was nearly 104 million, up 25% year-over-year. Airbnb says this growth was driven by bookings in North America, EMEA and Latin America.

Gross booking value, the dollar value of all of those bookings, was $17 billion, up 27% year-over-year.

Adjusted EBITDA was also way up in the second quarter – more than triple Q2 of last year to $711 million, and a significant improvement from a loss of $43 million in Q2 2019.

While growth continues to remain strongest in non-urban areas, Airbnb says it is now seeing clear signs of travelers returning to cities. Gross nights booked in high-density urban areas represented 47% of gross nights booked in the second quarter, exceeding Q2 2019 levels. Longer stays of 28 days or more also continue remain strong, accounting for 19% of gross nights booked in Q2, up from 13% in Q2 2019 and flat compared to Q2 last year.

Airbnb says it generated $795 million in free cash flow in the quarter, a $1.1 billion improvement from the second quarter of 2020 when the pandemic was beginning, and it is announcing a $2 billion share repurchase program.

In a letter to shareholders, Airbnb says the quarterly results indicate a “massive transformation in our business,” credited to the fact it offers “nearly every type of space in nearly every location” so it can adapt to changes in demand.

In its most recent platform update, in May, Airbnb enabled the splitting of stays of at least one week and up to six months between two properties, and it added a suite of “AirCover” protections for guests, following a similar launch of protections for hosts six months earlier.

“For hosts with an AirCover reimbursement request, the net promoter score has increased nearly 70 points,” the company says in its shareholder letter. 

“On May 11, we introduced AirCover for guests, which protects them in the case where a host cancels or the listing is not as described. Since launch, the net promoter score for guests that had an issue with their stay has already improved, and in the rare instance where a host cancels, AirCover for guests has led to 10% more rebookings.”

In a call with analysts to discuss the results, co-founder and CEO Brian Chesky expressed appreciation for co-founder Joe Gebbia, who announced in July he is stepping down from his full-time operating role at the company.

“What I’m most thankful for is that we’re still together, still meeting every Sunday. ... We built a dream together, and now after all these years, we still continue to dream,” Chesky says.

Chesky also spoke about efforts to simplify host onboarding. Airbnb currently has four million hosts, but Chesky says there are “millions more” people that can make their properties available on the platform and the company is developing “new products” and protections to improve the host experience.

“Ways to really try to get everyday people, with their primary homes, that want to host occasionally to host on Airbnb,” he says. 

“Airbnb was founded during a recession – 2008 financial crisis - people were worried about being able to pay their bills, pay for their homes, and so they turned to hosting and we think a lot of people may turn to hosting again. So this is a big opportunity for us.”

Looking ahead, Airbnb says in Q3 it expects Nights and Experiences booked year-over-year growth to be stable with year-over-year growth posted in Q2, and it expects average daily rates to be slightly higher compared to Q3 2021.

Regarding revenue, Airbnb says it expects its highest quarterly revenue and adjusted EBITDA ever to come in Q3, with revenue coming in between $2.78 and $2.88 billion.