GETTING OUT BUT STAYING CLOSE TO HOME

Airbnb says it is seeing a significant rise in bookings as lockdowns ease and people slowly start to shake off their Covid-19 cabin fever. In the US, bookings were up between May 17 and June 3 compared to the same period a year ago.

CEO Brian Chesky said Americans are ready to hit the road again with most demand for drive-to destinations within about 200 miles. Still, he expects overall annual revenue to be down by half this year.

Chesky told Bloomberg the average booking duration is about a week with work from home employees opting to mix business with leisure.

“Work from home is becoming working from any home,” he said.

Airbnb also cited a rise in domestic bookings in Portugal, Germany and South Korea.

Chesky also said a planned public offering this year could still go ahead.

“We’re not ruling out going public this year and we’re not committing to it.”

Airbnb’s bottom line has seen significantly impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. Last month it announced a quarter of its workforce is being cut.