Despegar Q2 gross bookings reach $1.1B, in line with Q2 2019

Latin American online travel agency Despegar says its gross bookings in the second quarter this year - $1.1 billion - were up 129% compared to 2021 and were in line with Q2 2019 levels. 

And revenue came in 18% above the second quarter of 2019 to $134.4 million – a 113% increase compared ot the same period in 2021.

Transactions in Q2 this year increased 65% year-over-year to 2.2 million – 90% of the level in the same quarter of 2019 – and room nights reached 69% of Q2 2019 levels.

Adjusted EBITDA in the quarter was $10.6 million – the third consecutive positive quarter for the company.

“Our winning business model and expanding travel ecosystem are enabling us to continue effectively capturing rising travel demand, particularly in Brazil, our largest market,” says Damion Scokin, CEO of Despegar.

In the second quarter Despegar completed its acquisitions of OTA Viajanet and Stays, a Brazilian vacation rental channel manager.

“Building on our M&A experience, we have been seamlessly integrating these businesses, in order to achieve revenue, cost and technology synergies,” Scokin says. 

Scokin also notes Despegar’s loyalty program, Passporte Despegar, as a driver of growth, with membership increasing by 2.6 million travelers in Q2 – an 82% jump from Q1 of this year - to 5.7 million total in the program. 

Despegar reports transactions in its air travel segment outgrew the recovery in packages, hotels and other travel products by 33 percentage points. Domestic gross bookings increased 76% year-over-year, exceeding Q2 2019 levels by 28%, while international gross bookings increased 200% year-over-year to 85% of the same quarter in 2019.

Brazil accounted for 32% of total transactions in the quarter, Mexico represented 21% and the rest of Latin America was the remainder. 

Sales and marketing expenses in the quarter were $42 million, up 120% year-over-year but in line as a percentage of gross bookings at about 3.8%.

“Based on current data and trends, we expect travel demand to sustain its recovery during the remainder of the year. We are aware of the current global macroeconomic volatility, particularly rising inflation and interest rates, however we have been operating in this challenging environment during the last four months and still see travel demand recovering,” Scokin says.