On Airbnb’s third-quarter earnings call last month, co-founder and CEO Brian Chesky called his company “the most adaptable business model in all of travel.”
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The statement sums up a key reason that Airbnb has been successful this year in transforming the function it offers consumers planning travel.
The San Francisco-based company saw 29% growth in year-over-year revenue in the third quarter of 2022 ($2.9 billion)—which was also its most profitable quarter on record. Net income grew 50% year-over-year to $1.2 billion, fueled by higher interest in long-term and non-urban travel thanks to the flexibility of working from home.
Growth aside, these preferences, along with heightened demand for trying new destinations, have inspired Airbnb to become the first stop along consumers’ travel-planning journeys. In the past, Airbnb has typically served as the third step of the journey—namely, finding a place to stay after travelers decided on their destination and booked their mode of transport.
But new features rolled out this year, backed by multiple marketing campaigns, position Airbnb as a platform for vacation discovery. The new direction resembles a shopping-like experience, said Bernie McTernan, senior analyst of internet and consumer technology for brokerage Needham & Company.
“Even though travel is changing, Airbnb is benefiting from that changing more than other platforms,” McTernan said.