- The results from Airbnb and Expedia demonstrate that the 1H 2023 is still going to be a bountiful period for travel and tourism. Both companies stated that demand, in the form of bookings, remains high despite concerns about the vibrancy of the economy and consumer; Airbnb expects no deceleration in nights booked for Q1 2023 (i.e., +20% YoY, or better) and Expedia's release read, “Demand was…strong and accelerating, and has been markedly stronger since the start of the year.”
- Airbnb, “We see a strong backlog for Q1 2023 with longer lead times for bookings in Q4 2022 compared to a year ago…Cross-border gross nights booked increased 49%, while high-density urban nights booked grew 22% compared to Q4 2021…In Q4 2022, high-density urban nights booked was 51% of total gross nights booked versus 59% in Q4 2019.”
- Expedia’s CFO Julie Whalen said, “January, we saw a step change where our lodging gross bookings accelerated even further, growing over 20% versus 2019. While it is still early in the quarter in 2023, we are pleased to see strong lodging demand continue, including total lodging bookings for stays expected to occur in the first half of 2023.”
- The U.S. Travel Association last produced forecasts for 2023 and beyond in November. Since then, there has been the sudden reopening of China and stronger-than-expected domestic travel. As such, we expect the recovery figures shown below to be revised higher.
