Skift Take
This week in digital news, Airbnb had $276 million in losses in its fourth quarter — and that was before coronavirus struck. Not good news for a company that was hoping to go public this year. Plus, Tripadvisor is trying to offload its vacation rental businesses — will Expedia follow suit?
Airbnb Loses $276 Million and 6 Other Takeaways From Its Fourth Quarter: Airbnb’s fourth quarter financials show it is 10 times larger than Tripadvisor. They also provide clarity that Booking Holdings has a long way to go to catch Airbnb in short-term rental businesses. Airbnb’s growing marketing spend in 2019 likely means that Google will have a welcome new partner in coming years.
Expedia Withdraws First Quarter Guidance and Halts Share Repurchases: You can expect numerous other companies to withdraw their first quarter financial guidance, if they haven’t already done so. A key question is how will the competitive landscape get reshaped once the crisis abates.