Airbnb Reports 'Softness,' Looks to International and Hotels to Get Growth Mojo Back

Airbnb’s core business – guests staying in short-term rentals – grew less than 10% in 2024 and just 8% in the first quarter this year. Can Airbnb can get back to double-digit growth?

In a shareholder letter released with first-quarter results Thursday, Airbnb said it expected nights and experiences booked to “moderate” in the current quarter.

“In the U.S. we’ve seen softer results, which we believe has been largely driven by broader economic uncertainties,” Airbnb stated.

Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky said on an earnings call Thursday that international expansion would be a key growth driver. The shareholder letter noted that expansion markets grew more than twice as fast as Airbnb’s core markets — the U.S., Canada, the UK, France and Australia — in the first quarter.

Key expansion markets are Spain, Italy, Germany, Mexico, Brazil, China, India, South Korea, and Japan, Chesky said.

“We’re going to step on the gas, and I think that international will be one of the biggest growth drivers that will get us back to double-digit growth,” Chesky said.

Chesky also said that bringing more high-quality hotels onto the platform is part of the plan. “We think almost all the hoteliers in the world would love to have Airbnb as a distribution channel,” Chesky said.

He added that the company acquired HotelTonight in 2019, but had to abandon hotel development during the pandemic. Airbnb recently launched a promotion where HotelTonight bookers get a 10% credit on Airbnb.

“It’s absolutely going to be part of our strategy again,” Chesky said.

Chesky said the way to get back into double-digits in room night growth is to perfect its core business, and it has taken steps towards that by launching Guest Favorites. Meanwhile, Airbnb has removed 450,000 subpar listings since 2023.

Airbnb also expanded its total price display before taxes globally. Chesky said this feature draws customers to properties with the best values, and “incentivizes the best behavior for hosts.”

Only 1 in 9 people book an Airbnb instead of a hotel, Chesky said: “So if we could just get one of those nine people to book an Airbnb that potentially would double the size of our business.”

Chesky said most people who visit Airbnb don’t book a stay. In fact, 1.5 billion devices — phones, tablets and computers — accessed Airbnb, so there is great potential to convince more of the individuals behind these devices to book and to grow the business.

Nights and Experiences Booked

In the first quarter, Airbnb’s nights and experiences booked grew 8% to $143.1 million. The growth rates was 9.5% a year earlier, but some of that deceleration can be attributed to foreign exchange issues.

Airbnb added that the company expects average daily rates to be flat in 2025 compared with last year.

Likewise, revenue growth was 18% in the first quarter of 2024, but increased just 6% to $2.3 billion in the first quarter of 2025. Airbnb said revenue growth would have been 11% had it not been for foreign currency and calendar issues in the quarter.

In comparison, Booking Holdings’ room nights and revenue increased 7% and 8%, respectively, in the first quarter.

Net income in the first quarter fell 41% to $154 million. Airbnb that was mainly because of higher stock-based compensation from a having more employees, and write-downs in the value of private investments.

Canadians Opt for Mexico

Airbnb also reported “softness” in Canadians travel to the U.S. — in light of President Trump’s proposed tariffs and talk of turning Canada into the 51st U.S. state.

However, Airbnb said that Canadians are still using Airbnb; in March it saw a 27% jump in Canadians booking stays in Mexico, for example.