Booking Holdings took in $27.3 billion in gross travel
bookings in the first quarter of this year – an increase of 129% compared to Q1
2021 and the highest quarterly amount in the company’s history.
Room nights booked in Q1 doubled compared to a year earlier,
from 99 million in Q1 2021 to 198 million in the first quarter this year.
“Despite an uncertain macroeconomic environment, we have
seen continued strengthening of global travel trends so far in the second
quarter of 2022, and we are preparing for a busy summer travel season ahead,”
says Glenn Fogel, CEO of Booking Holdings.
“I’m encouraged by how well our teams are executing to
capture travel demand in this recovery environment and our progress in
expanding our payments platform at Booking.com while we build towards our ‘Connected
Trip’ vision.”
Booking Holdings' total revenues in Q1 2022 were $2.7
billion, an increase of 136% year-on-year. Adjusted EBITDA in the first quarter
of 2022 was $310 million, compared with an adjusted EBITDA loss of $195 million
in Q1 2021.
Net loss for the quarter was $700 million, compared with a
net loss of $55 million in Q1 2021. The company says this year’s figure
includes net losses of $987 million “on equity securities with readily
determinable fair values while the results for the first quarter of 2021
include net gains of $32 million on equity securities with readily determinable
fair values.”
Marketing expenses in Q1 jumped significantly year-over-year, from $461 million in 2021 to $1.15 billion in the first three months this year.