14 February 2024 , 15:46
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Airbnb has reported a loss of $349 million (£278m) due to a tax dispute with Italy, despite seeing an increase in bookings and revenue.
The company's chief executive officer, Brian Chesky, said during a call with analysts that Airbnb is working on improving its business by making pricing more transparent, controlling high cleaning fees, and reducing cancellations by hosts. Chesky also revealed plans to expand the rental platform in countries where it isn't as strong as in the United States.
This expansion is already happening in Germany, Brazil, and South Korea, and will soon be implemented in Switzerland, Belgium, and the Netherlands. However, he did not provide any details about this "multiyear journey,", only promising news later this year.
Airbnb reported a loss in the fourth quarter, compared to a profit of $319 million (£254m) the previous year. This was due to $1 billion (£789m) in one-off tax expenses and lodging tax reserves. The company had disclosed in December that it would pay Italy's tax agency 576 million euros (£494 million at the time) over a case involving withholding from property hosts in the country.
Airbnb did not admit any wrongdoing and officials say they don't expect similar liabilities in other countries. Without these special expenses, Airbnb said it would have made a profit of $489 million (£389m).
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Revenue increased by 17% to $2.22 billion (£1.76bn) , beating analysts' forecast of $2.17 billion (£1.7bn). Bookings rose by 12%, and the average daily rate increased by 3%. Airbnb is predicting first-quarter revenue of between $2.03 billion (£1.6bn) and $2.07 billion (£1.6 bn). Analysts were expecting $2.03 billion (£1.6bn).
The company said demand remains strong, particularly among new users. Bookings grew 12% from a year earlier, and picked up after "volatility" in October, when economic uncertainty and the start of war in Israeli-occupied Gaza raised doubts about travel demand.
Airbnb said its growth is increasing in less mature or "under-penetrated markets" including Brazil, where bookings made within the country have nearly doubled since late 2019. The value of gross bookings, at $15.5 billion (£12.3bn) , was slightly higher than the $15.2 billion (£12.1bn) forecast by analysts.