Airbnb, Booking and Expedia Generate Strong Cash Flow
Skift Take
Key Points
- Airbnb, Booking.com, and Expedia have generated strong cash flow, enabling flexibility for acquisitions.
- Virtuoso has seen a sales spike driven by high demand for private and exclusive travel experiences.
- Saudi Arabia is investing over $1 trillion in tourism to diversify its economy away from oil revenue.
Summary
Airbnb, Booking.com, and Expedia have generated strong cash flow over the past year, allowing for strategic investments and acquisitions. Virtuoso has experienced a sales boom due to rising interest in private and exclusive travel experiences. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia is heavily investing in its tourism sector, aiming to attract more visitors and reduce its economic reliance on oil revenue, with a significant focus on sports tourism.
Skift Daily Briefing Podcast
Listen to the day’s top travel stories in under four minutes every weekday.Good morning from Skift. It’s Wednesday, August 16. Here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today.
Listen Now
🎧 Subscribe
Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Overcast | Google Podcasts | Amazon Podcasts
Episode Notes
Airbnb and Booking.com have delivered strong cash flow over the past year, giving them the flexibility for acquisitions and other transactions, reports Executive Editor Dennis Schaal in his Online Travel Briefing.
Schaal looked at the companies’ free cash flow conversion, which measures how efficiently companies convert revenue into free cash flow after interest payments.
A key factor in their favor: They are all asset light businesses, meaning they don’t own the hotels or short-term rentals that they offer. The companies’ high levels of free cash flow provides the needed resources for a range of investment, including acquisitions and product development.
Next, global luxury travel network Virtuoso has seen a sales boom driven by surging interest in private experiences, writes Travel Experiences Reporter Selene Brophy.
Brophy notes that Virtuoso guests are spending between $10,000 to $50,000 per trip on average. Virtuoso’s platform has a network of 20,000 luxury travel advisors and they are seeing growing demand for exclusive experiences, wellness travel and yacht bookings.
We end today looking at Saudi Arabia’s big investment in its tourism industry. Associate Editor Rashaad Jorden examines why the kingdom is investing so heavily in the sector using Ask Skift, our artificial intelligence chatbot.
Ask Skift provided four reasons why Saudi Arabia is planning to spend more than $1 trillion beefing up its tourism industry over the next decade. That investment is a key part of its strategy to wean away from its heavy reliance on oil revenue. Jordan writes that Saudi tourism officials are heavily targeting Chinese travelers, with the goal of attracting roughly 4 million visitors from the country annually by 2030.
Saudi Arabia is also investing heavily in sports tourism, a sector that is expected to be worth more than $3 billion in the country by 2024. Saudi authorities view sports as a key part of its strategy to boost the kingdom’s profile. The country has hosted several major sporting events in recent years, including its first-ever Formula One Grand Prix race in 2021.
Up Next
How Data Quality Issues Impact Global Hospitality Operations
The White Lotus Effect Could Be a Disaster for Thailand's Koh Samui - And Travel Media Is Making it Worse
Travel Startups Raise $580 Million Over Two Weeks
Tariffs and Travel: What Trump’s Trade Moves Could Mean for Airlines
