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Airbnb CEO: US lifting travel ban is 'a huge boon to travel'

Brian Sozzi
·Executive Editor
·2-min read

Airbnb co-founder and CEO Brian Chesky told Yahoo Finance Live bookings are on an upswing thanks to the Biden administration lifting the ban on international travelers to the country.

"On Oct. 15. President Joe Biden announced that the U.S. borders would be reopened to international tourists starting Nov. 8. That week, we saw a 44% increase in bookings on our platform for people coming to the United States," Chesky revealed.

On Monday, the U.S. ended a pandemic travel ban on international visitors from 33 countries. The ban has lasted 19 months, and was first implemented by the Trump administration. International travelers will be required to show proof of vaccination and a recent negative test for COVID-19.

Chesky thinks the lifting of the ban will provide a nice lift to Airbnb and the travel industry this holiday season.

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"I think that's going to be a huge boon to travel. That's my prediction," Chesky said, adding people staying longer on the Airbnb platform will also help.

Major hotel chains such as Marriott, Hilton and IHG are seeing similar trends right now, their CEOs have told Yahoo Finance Live.

"The day the Nov. 8 date was announced, we saw an instant surge in bookings. By the way, this week was up 50% overnight in terms of bookings. It just demonstrates what we have seen in virtually every segment of our industry, which is there is tremendous pent up demand for people to get back on the road," said Hyatt CEO Mark Hoplamazian.

As for Airbnb, its business showed some good momentum prior to the travel ban lifting.

Nights and experiences booked surged 29% year-over-year to 79.7 million. Gross booking value rose 48% from a year ago to $11.9 billion. Adjusted operating profits of $1.1 billion improved 120% from last year's third quarter.

Brian Sozzi is an editor-at-large and anchor at Yahoo Finance. Follow Sozzi on Twitter @BrianSozzi and on LinkedIn.

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