Airbnb's financial information was just revealed — and it's giving 5 stars to Marketing
Clean sheets, charming view, easy to find wifi password... Airbnb wasn't planning on hosting you to view its financial information. But it is. Tech website The Information got the scoop on the private company — here are the numbers to know from its 1st quarter:
- Revenue rose 31%
- Expenses jumped 47%
- Its loss more than doubled
Stick this last number up on a billboard... Marketing expenses saw the biggest jump — a 58% increase to pay for some creative stuff. Airbnb now boasts its own physical magazine (like, real paper) and video documentaries. But the Marketing Dept is getting more money for 2 reasons:
- Big spenders: Travel rivals Booking and Expedia dropped $10B combined last year to market themselves — Airbnb is on track to spend $1.5B or more.
- Pre-IPO: Airbnb plans to IPO in 2020, and if its ad campaigns work, then its user numbers will grow. It really wants to look good day #1 on public markets.
Airbnb now looks like Obi-Wan Kenobi... It’s the unicorns’ only hope. For all of 2019's horned stallions IPO'ing, Uber, Lyft, Peloton, Slack, and more have all underperformed. Airbnb is the last large elder unicorn left to go public — and investors hope it can reverse the under-performing IPO trend (ideally by showing some profits).