Norway is the latest country to gain visa-free access to China.
10.09.2024 - 20:56 / skift.com / Dennis Schaal / Ellie Mertz
During the pandemic, Airbnb saw a burst of long-term stays of 28 days or longer, and also reservations in non-urban areas. While many other areas of the business have normalized in the interim, those two areas are still solid.
“I think a lot of bears thought that segment would unravel as we emerge and people went back to work,” Chief Financial Officer Ellie Mertz told a Goldman Sachs investor conference Monday, referring to long-term stays. “And yet what we see today is that segment is not growing as fast as short-term rentals, but on nominal terms [i.e. not adjusted for inflation], it’s approximately double the size that it was pre-pandemic and continues to be a very significant portion of our business.”
During the first quarter of 2021, long-term stays were Airbnb’s fastest-growing category of trip-lengths.
In August, Mertz noted that long-term stays are slowing the company’s growth in North America compared with other regions. That’s because Airbnb’s long-term stays are concentrated in North America and their growth is slower than for short-term rentals.
Airbnb has been pushing the theme recently of how the average one-bedroom Airbnb is cheaper than a hotel stay. Mertz didn’t raise that issue, but argued that an Airbnb stay is much more practical for a long-term stay than a hotel.
“If you want to stay somewhere for five, six weeks, six months, a hotel is not a reasonable alternative and Airbnb provides a massive amount of inventory that allows you to make use of that use case,” she said.
U.S.-headquartered hotel companies, though, are making big investments in extended stays so they might push back on Mertz’s contention.
Mertz said non-urban travel, which surged during the pandemic because people were seeking refuge from congested areas, “has continued at a higher level than urban sites.”
One reason for that is that while many companies demanded that employees return to the office, employees still value the flexibility of remote work. Mertz tied the ongoing strength of non-urban bookings to heightened awareness that Airbnb is present in a “diversity of markets,” and the “really highly differentiated aspect of our offering.”
Norway is the latest country to gain visa-free access to China.
You don't need to be a member of Disney Vacation Club, or DVC, to reap some of its benefits — including the ability to book coveted resorts for a lower price.
An Allegiant Air passenger says she and her son were wrongly removed from a flight because a cabin crew member didn't want to miss out on snack commissions.
When booking a cruise to Greece, most travelers picture themselves walking along serene alleyways between white-washed buildings, having freshly caught meals at seaside tavernas, or sunbathing on a tranquil beach.
My husband and I were born almost exactly one year apart and over 4,000 miles away from each other. We always say it was fate that somehow brought us together.
After pausing the acceptance of host signups for new experiences for around a year-and-a half, Airbnb has deleted subpar experience listings, and re-opened the application process.
There's a brand-new iPhone on the block — and travelers may want to consider upgrading. On Monday, Apple unveiled the suite of iPhone 16 phones, including the iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 16 Pro Max, which the company said are the fastest and smartest phones it's made to date.
From fiery birch, elm and sugar maple in the Great Lakes to sunset-hued beech and oak in the southern Appalachians to glowing sumac and cottonwoods along the Mississippi, the forests of the Midwest flaunt some of the most vivid fall colors in the United States.
Villa Vie Residences' highly anticipated residential around-the-world cruise has been delayed yet again from its original May target date, it told waiting customers on Monday.
Greece plans to tax cruise passengers that step foot on the islands Santorini and Mykonos and ban new short-term rentals in three of Athens’ central districts, the prime minister announced on Saturday.
Sep 9, 2024 • 4 min read
I'm an American born to British parents. My husband is British and recently obtained US citizenship after living there for 10 years. When we had our son (who also has dual citizenship), we knew we'd spend significant time on both continents. However, the pandemic, finances, and busy schedules kept us from traveling internationally.