Airbnb has shared its quarterly results for the normally very prolific period from July to September. Mixed results, which led to a fall in its share price on Wall Street.
Significant spending on marketing
The platform’s revenue increased 10% from the previous year’s $3.4 billion to $3.73 billion. Its net profit reached $1.37 billion, compared to $4.37 billion year-on-year. This is due, in particular, to considerable spending on marketing to strengthen Airbnb’s presence in international markets such as Brazil and Japan.
Because despite everything, reserves jumped by 8% to 122.8 million compared to the same period in 2023. “ We had another strong quarter at Airbnb, with booking growth accelerating throughout Q3 and into Q4. I’m especially proud of the growth in our expansion markets, app bookings and guest favorites lists, and I look forward to another busy holiday travel season », Comments Brian Chesky, the CEO of the company.
Last month, Airbnb launched the new co-host feature. It allows hosts to collaborate with other people to manage their property, delegating certain responsibilities. These could be roommates, friends, family members, neighbors or committed professionals. “ Not only would this unlock more deals, but I think in the coming years it could unlock millions of registrations “, believes Chesky.
Big changes are brewing at Airbnb
During the traditional call with shareholders, the manager also supported his plans to deploy an assistant powered by artificial intelligence (AI) within the platform. Initially, it will answer users’ basic questions, but it will then be able to personalize its answers according to each user’s reservations.
Airbnb hopes that ultimately, this technology handles the majority of requests currently handled by traditional customer service. “ We believe that in the future the vast majority of our conversations will be intercepted and managed directly by the artificial intelligence agent ” Chesky explained.
The platform is also preparing a strategic shift for 2025. She intends to explore sectors close to travel, before venturing “ far beyond » in the next ten yearswithout giving additional specifications.
To illustrate this strategy, Brian Chesky draws a parallel with the journey of Amazon. He recalls how the e-commerce giant, initially specialized in the sale of books, diversified at the end of the 90s by offering CDs, DVDs and other consumer products. The ambitions are colossal: Airbnb plans to launch one to two new activities each year, each expected to generate more than a billion dollars in additional annual revenue.
- Airbnb reported a mixed third quarter.
- The platform will deploy an AI assistant which, ultimately, should manage all user requests.
- It will also begin a vast diversification to offer services other than rental.
