Airbnb filed to go public last month, a seemingly strange move for a company that was forced to lay off a quarter of its workforce in May.
Why it matters: Airbnb looks as though it's vastly outperforming expectations from this spring.
The big picture: While the hotel industry is still in terrible shape and asking for a federal bailout, Airbnb looks as though it has become one of the more improbable winners from the coronavirus pandemic.
- Vacationers prefer homes they can have to themselves over buildings that they have to share with other people.
- People working remotely have realized that if they can work from anywhere, they might as well work from somewhere beautiful.
By the numbers: Estimates from Edison Trends show Marriott and other hotel chains seeing much lower spending than at this time last year. At Airbnb, by contrast, spending is hitting new all-time highs.
- Airbnb spending is running a whopping 75% higher than this time last year, says the research shop, based on a panel of spending data including more than 65,000 Airbnb transactions.
- That means Airbnb's revenues have comfortably surpassed Marriott's, for the first time.
The bottom line: Airbnb's pandemic boost won't last forever. But if nervousness about sharing enclosed spaces persists, and if remote work becomes more broadly accepted, both will be good news for the startup.