Airbnb's Near-Term Demand Softening, but Long-Term Growth Opportunity Remains Enticing

Despite near-term softening in demand, we think that Airbnb's global online travel agency, or OTA, position will strengthen over the next decade, driven by a leading alternative accommodation network (source of its narrow moat) of over 5 million hosts and cumulative 1.5 billion guest arrivals since its start in 2008. We think this network advantage will be supported by artificial intelligence investment and expansion into the experiences vertical and international markets over the next several years. Also, Airbnb is positioned to benefit from the ongoing shift to mobile bookings, witnessed by Airbnb being a top-10 iPhone travel app in 116 markets versus 24 for Expedia and 136 for Booking Holdings, according to App Annie on August 1, 2024.