Airbnb Raises Outlook, Citing Resilient Travel Demand

By Katherine Hamilton

Airbnb raised its full-year outlook, as strong global travel demand helped offset an influx in cancellations around the Iran war.

The short-term rental company said it now anticipates annual sales will increase by a low- to mid-teen percentage. It previously said it expected at least a low-double-digit percentage growth.

The higher outlook reflects momentum in travel demand, Airbnb said. Travel demand across the Americas was particularly strong in the quarter, despite some headwinds in the Middle East.

Airbnb on Thursday posted a profit of $160 million, or 26 cents a share, in the quarter ended March 31, compared with $154 million, or 24 cents a share, a year earlier. Analysts were expecting 30 cents a share, according to FactSet.

Revenue rose 18% to $2.68 billion. Analysts surveyed by FactSet forecast revenue of $2.62 billion.

Gross booking value increased 19% to $29.2 billion, ahead of the $27.8 billion analysts projected.

Airbnb said it had higher cancellations in its Europe and Middle East region, as well as Asia Pacific, primarily driven by the conflict in Iran. Its other international markets had strong growth, especially in Brazil, Japan and India, where the company is focusing its expansion efforts.

In North America, nights and seats booked increased at a faster pace than the prior quarter. Airbnb said demand for domestic travel was strong, and trips were booked further in advance.

Airbnb is also getting more money from each transaction thanks to a simplification of its fee structure, where it now uses a single set fee for transactions.

The company's reserve now, pay later feature -- which launched last year and lets users wait to pay for their booking -- is becoming increasingly popular and made up roughly 20% of gross booking value in the quarter.

In the current second quarter, Airbnb projects revenue will be $3.54 billion to $3.60 billion, which would be ahead of Wall Street's estimate of $3.46 billion.

Write to Katherine Hamilton at katherine.hamilton@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 07, 2026 16:17 ET (20:17 GMT)