Quickly recovered after a break-in: Airbnb draws a light balance of the crisis

Friday, February 26, 2021

Recovered quickly after a break-in
Airbnb draws a light crisis balance

2020 was a horror year for the tourism industry. Analysts had expected the worst for Airbnb's balance sheet. But the mediation portal did better than feared.

The apartment broker Airbnb did better in the Corona year 2020 than initially assumed. Overall, revenues fell by 30 percent to $ 3.4 billion, as Airbnb announced on Thursday after the US market closed. After the severe slump at the beginning of the pandemic, business recovered significantly; in the final quarter there was only a drop in sales of 22 percent to $ 859 million compared to the previous year.

Nevertheless, the crisis tore deep holes in the balance sheet – Airbnb made a total loss of $ 4.6 billion in 2020. The enormous minus was not only due to the burdens of the pandemic, which brought business to a standstill in the spring and led to massive cancellations. Airbnb also faced high costs associated with its December IPO.

Analysts had expected worse results, the share initially recorded price gains after the trading hours. The numbers showed that Airbnb is resilient and adaptable, said CEO Brian Chesky. At the height of the crisis, the company had warned of a drop in revenues of more than 50 percent for 2020.