North American Bookings Surge Helped Airbnb in 2020 Revival, Overtaking Europe

Prior to 2020, the Europe, Middle East and Africa region (EMEA) was the biggest revenue and bookings generator for Airbnb, according to its new IPO documents filed on Monday night. Of these, Europe had the biggest share, with cities such as Paris, London, and Barcelona being some of the top cities on Airbnb historically.

But, during the pandemic as Europe was more stringent on lockdowns and cautious on reopening in cities, North America — and we really mean U.S. here — overtook EMEA. Lax travel lockdowns and regulations on this continent meant U.S. and North America overall was much better for Airbnb this year. Europe is a city-heavy business for Airbnb, and with people wanting to escape out of cities, it will be interesting to see if this trend holds up for the company in 2021 and beyond.

From the Airbnb IPO S-1 filing on geographic mix and how it changed this year:

“Our operations are global, and certain trends in our business, such as Nights and Experiences Booked, Gross Booking Value, revenue, Gross Booking Value per Night and Experience Booked, and Nights per Booking vary by geography.

We measure Nights and Experiences Booked by region based on the location of the listing. EMEA and North America represented our largest regions by Nights and Experiences Booked, GBV, and revenue in 2019, followed by Asia Pacific and Latin America.

For more on Airbnb’s IPO in our ongoing coverage, check our stories here.

As a result of COVID-19, the geographic mix of Nights and Experiences Booked, GBV, and revenue during the first nine months of 2020 reflected a shift toward North America, where we have seen the strongest recovery. For the first nine months of 2020, Nights and Experiences Booked were 56.4 million, or 38 percent of the total, in North America compared to 55.3 million, or 38 percent, in EMEA, 20.2 million, or 14 percent, in Asia Pacific, and 15.0 million, or 10 percent, in Latin America.

For the first nine months of 2020, GBV was $9.7 billion, or 54 percent of the total, in North America compared to $5.6 billion, or 31 percent, in EMEA, $1.6 billion, or 9 percent, in Asia Pacific, and $1.1 billion, or 6 percent, in Latin America. Similarly, for the first nine months of 2020, revenue was $1.3 billion, or 50 percent of the total, in North America compared to $0.9 billion, or 34 percent, in EMEA, $0.2 billion, or 9 percent, in Asia Pacific, and $0.1 billion, or 7 percent, in Latin America.

GBV per Night and Experience Booked is highest in North America, followed by EMEA, Asia Pacific, and Latin America. Length of stay, or the number of nights attributable to a given booking, is highest in Latin America, followed by North America, EMEA, and Asia Pacific, and we expect that our blended global average nights per booking will fluctuate based on our geographic mix and changes in traveler behaviors.

Additionally, we saw an increase in GBV per Night and Experience Booked in the first nine months of 2020 compared to 2019, in part because our geographic mix has shifted to these higher GBV per Night and Experience Booked regions. North America saw an increase in GBV per Night and Experience Booked as larger entire homes have been in greater demand. The average nights per booking also increased globally in the first nine months of 2020, reflecting demand for longer stays. Specifically, GBV per Night and Experience Booked in the first nine months of 2020 was $172.97 for North America compared to $100.80 for EMEA, $78.98 for Asia Pacific, and $71.00 for Latin America, with a total global GBV per Night and Experience Booked of $122.47. Average nights per booking, excluding experiences, for the first nine months of 2020 were 4.3 for both North America and EMEA, 2.9 for Asia Pacific, and 4.4 for Latin America, with a total average of 4.0.”

For more on Airbnb’s IPO in our ongoing coverage, check our stories here.