Investors were checking out of Airbnb in numbers in after-hours trading as the good news of better-than-expected quarterly performance was swiftly followed by the bad news of a weak outlook.
As feels customary these days the company was keen to talk about its plans to integrate AI into the business. However, investors care about the brass tacks of bookings and prices and both are heading in the wrong direction as far as Airbnb is concerned.
AJ Bell’s Russ Mould said: “This is unsurprising, people are likely to opt for the most affordable accommodation on the platform if they can. Perhaps a bigger worry is this could be the first sign that the impressively resilient spending on travel in the wake of the pandemic is coming under greater pressure.
“The company also faces a competitive threat from the likes of Booking.com and Expedia-owned Vrbo and also could face stricter regulation. There are plans in the UK, for example, to make homeowners listing entire properties on short let platforms to have to seek planning permission first.”
