Room portfolio to drive Airbnb’s growth

Amanpreet Bajaj, general manager for India, South East Asia, Hong Kong and Taiwan, said India is a key growth market for the company. Peppermint,

“India is one of the most important geographies for our company from a growth perspective,” he said, adding that the company has achieved domestic growth of 110% in 2022 surpassing 2019 levels, as well as overnight There has been a 70% increase in bookings. Country.

Despite the ongoing development of the hosting ecosystem in India, he said it is actively collaborating with hosts and states to encourage more people to join as hosts. The company has also recently set up a tech hub in Bengaluru to support its product development efforts for both Indian and global operations. While the company reduced its workforce during the pandemic, it remains committed to strengthening its core services and building tools that make hosting easier for individuals.

“A lot of people have primary and secondary homes, and many companies also now manage these homes as is if the host cannot manage it themselves. Some of those companies listed with us to use as a distribution perspective,” he said.

Its private room hosts collectively earned in India in 2022 100 crores, reflecting the financial benefits available to the hosts. Additionally, the number of nights spent in private room listings has increased significantly over the past year by 80%.

The most popular booking categories included individual rooms, tropical locations, properties with ‘amazing pools’, beach areas and national park destinations.

Nearly 80% of private room accommodations in 2022 cost less than $100 per night (approx.) 8,200), with the average rate for a private room in India 2,572 per night.

Bajaj sees a rise in travel interest among Indians to international destinations. “A lot of Indians want to travel abroad. Southeast Asia and Europe are the top 10 locations where we are seeing an increase in searches compared to last year. When Indians travel abroad, they want to experience it like a local. Generally speaking, we are seeing Millennials and Gen Z leading the way for us in India,” Bajaj said.

The increase in average length of stay and spending, as well as the flexibility of remote and hybrid work arrangements, continues to contribute to the popularity of its bookings throughout the year. The company charges anywhere between 14-18% as commission from clients and around 3-4% from its hosts.

But Airbnb India Private Limited saw a 32% decrease in revenue in FY2012 from a year ago. However, according to the company’s Registrar of Companies filing accessed through business intelligence platform Toffler, the company’s total revenue was down by 32%. 32.16 crores Vs. 47.33 crore in FY21. This is where the Marketing and Business Development Unit is located.

However, the global unit saw a 20% increase in its revenue in the first quarter earnings (January-March). And for 2022, it reported a net profit of $117 million, compared to a net loss of $19 million in 2021.

The company’s global filing to the SEC in the US highlighted that while the Asia Pacific region has not yet fully recovered to 2019 levels, partly due to the closure of China.

In an earnings call, its CEO Brian Chesky cautioned that the overlap of pent-up demand from 2022 following the Covid Omicron variant in the second quarter of 2023 could result in an unfavorable year-over-year comparison.

Despite the challenges posed by the pandemic, Airbnb remains optimistic about the growth opportunities in the Indian market and is dedicated to enhancing its services and offerings to meet the evolving needs of travelers and hosts.