Industry
Airbnb Chief Executive Brian Chesky expected on Thursday that travel would change permanently as a result of the pandemic with people seeking thousands of smaller cities and spending more time visiting friends and relatives. family.
PHOTO FILE: PHOTO FILE: Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky stands for Reuters in Los Angeles, California, USA November 17, 2016. REUTERS / Phil McCarten / File Photo / File Photo
REUTERS: Brian Chesky, Airbnb chief executive on Thursday, expected travel to change permanently as a result of the pandemic with people seeking thousands of smaller cities and spending more time exploring visiting friends and family.
Traditional tourism and scenery at major global destinations would be greatly reduced by travelers driving to smaller communities and flying less for business meetings.
The start-up was hit by the COVID-19 outbreak in early 2020 and its industry fell 80per percent in just over eight weeks.
However, as locksmiths grew, more travelers opted to book homes instead of hotels, helping Airbnb post a staggering profit for the third quarter. The San Francisco-based company has gained more interest in renting homes from major cities.
The home rental company went public in an initial public offering in December, its shares more than doubling in their first stock market. Shares of Airbnb rose as much as 10per percent to record a high of US $ 187.42 on Thursday.
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The rental platform has been canceling home-shared accommodation in the Washington DC area for President Joe Biden’s inauguration next Wednesday after law enforcement warned threat from armed militias.
Speaking at the Next Reuters conference, Chesky recalled the white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia and said he did not want the platform to allow travelers to commit violence in communities.
Airbnb came to a decision after talking to local and federal officials and after several hosts were concerned about possible attacks that could have tried to cancel concerts.
However, major hotels including Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc and Marriott International have stated their intention to support the existing resorts.
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(Reporting by Subrat Patnaik in Bengaluru; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)