Airbnb Inc (NASDAQ:ABNB) said it expects a significant travel rebound as vaccines continue to be rolled out after posting a tumble in full-year revenue.
The vacation rental marketplace expects year-on-year bookings will be volatile and unreliable measures of the growth of its business, due to the significant increase in cancellations seen in the first half of 2020.
However, decline in the first quarter of 2021 is expected to be less steep than the fourth quarter of 2020 as people are more willing to book stays.
The online platform posted a 30% drop in revenue to US$3.4bn for the year to December 31, with bookings down 41% to US$193mln net of cancellations and alterations.
However, it managed to keep underlying losses nearly flat at US$251mln, from US$253mln in 2019, thanks to a cost-cutting programme.
The largest one-off charge was a non-cash stock-based compensation expense of US$2.8bn related to the IPO, where the company was required to recognise a significant portion of all stock-based compensation provided to Airbnb employees over the last several years.