Airbnb sees strong first-quarter revenue on travel demand, longer stays

Strong demand helped push up prices charged by hosts, with average daily rates during the fourth quarter up 20% at $154

Airbnb Inc forecast on Tuesday a better-than-expected first-quarter revenue after the short-term home rental company reported strong quarterly results on rising domestic travel and longer stays by guests at higher prices.

While the San Francisco-based company was initially hit by the pandemic, its business rebounded as people took trips closer to home where they stayed for longer to work remotely. The trend has since continued with "non-urban gross nights" booked up about 45% in the fourth quarter versus 2019.

"There's this entire acceleration in this new category of travel, which is that people are less tethered to an office, so they can