Airbnb reported a $3.89 billion loss in the fourth quarter

The coronavirus pandemic is taking a toll on the travel industry and no company is immune from it. As we noted early this month, Expedia Group Inc, the company that operates the online travel platform Expedia.com, reported its fourth straight quarterly loss, as coronavirus continues to wreak havoc on the travel industry.

Now, short-term rental booking company Airbnb reported a net loss of $3.89 billion in the fourth quarter. That was down 1,005% from a loss of $352 million a year prior. During the same quarter, Airbnb reported revenue of $859 million vs. $748 million forecast by Refinitiv. The home-sharing platform blamed much of its loss on charges related to the company’s initial public offering in December.

According to the earnings report, Airbnb counted 46.3 million nights and experiences booked in the fourth quarter, down 39% year over year. That figure was down 25% from the 61.8 million nights and experiences booked in the third quarter. Gross booking value was $5.9 billion, down 31% year over year. Gross booking value was also down more than 26% from $8 billion in the third quarter.

In the report, Airbnb said:

“Despite the pandemic in 2020, Airbnb’s business proved highly resilient, with strength in North America, domestic travel, nearby travel, and long-term stays.”

Airbnb made its debut on Wall Street last December 10, 2020. Its shares surged to $146 per share during the opening trades, a more than 115% jump, pushing the company’s valuation to more than $100 billion, more than doubling the $68 per share price set for its IPO the day before.

Founded in 2008 by Brian Chesky, Joe Gebbia, and Nathan Blecharczyk, Airbnb is an online community marketplace for people to list, discover, and book accommodations. Since its inception, Airbnb has raised a total of $6.4 billion in funding over 22 rounds. Their latest funding was raised on Jun 3, 2020, from a Secondary Market round. The company has been privately valued at $31 billion.