An AirBnB boss says its COVID-19 tool will soon be ready, and says the tourism sector is going to bounce back
Airbnb
- The travel industry has been hit hard by the pandemic and Airbnb lost 80% of revenue in eight weeks.
- However, general manager for Spain and Portugal, Monica Casañas, is optimistic about the future.
- Casañas said wanderlust was on the rise and vacations were now being booked more last-minute.
- See more stories on Insider's business page.
It's no secret that the tourism industry has been one of the most heavily impacted sectors during the pandemic.
Even travel giants like Airbnb have struggled, with its valuation in April 2020 at $18 billion, down from $31 billion in 2017.
In just eight weeks, the company's value plunged 80% and Chesky later told Insider he felt he'd had to make "10 years worth of decisions in 10 weeks," with the company cutting 1,900 jobs.
However, by the end of 2020 things began to look up with the company going public in a blockbuster IPO.
Its shares closed the first session up 128.69% to reach a market capitalization of over $100 billion.
Getting to that point wasn't easy though - just ask the general manager for Spain and Portugal Monica Casañas.
Having been at Airbnb for nine months, she was promoted on March 9, 2020.
Just three days later, the world was in the throes of the COVID-19 pandemic and now Casañas has spent a year dealing with some of the most difficult challenges the company has ever faced.
"To be honest with you, it's been hard, but it's been hard for everyone," Casañas told Business Insider España. "This year has been complicated and I honestly consider myself one of the lucky ones because at least I'm in a company that has managed to recover."
When travel slowed down worldwide, Airbnb had to find a way to shift gears and emerge stronger from the crisis that still continues to crush the sector.
"We turned things around quickly and launched our cleaning protocol, plus we put our efforts into helping whoever needed it with stays for frontline workers and we got a lot of hosts who offered their homes, even for free, so that frontline healthcare staff could stay here," Casañas said.
"We were in a constantly changing situation and we had to move very quickly to be able to do what the community was asking of us," she added.
The latest available Airbnb accounts in Spain are for the 2019 financial year and reflect that the company obtained a turnover of $8.64 million, the highest revenue since it began operations in the country.
A year of pent-up demand
Although travel restrictions are still in place for much of the globe, the desire to travel has been increasing. A survey of Airbnb users last month revealed most missed traveling twice as much as they did going to bars or restaurants.
"We know there is a lot of pent-up demand," Casañas said. New opportunities have also been generated for domestic tourism thanks to traveling restrictions, with 80% of revenue in low urban density areas.
Artur Debat/Getty Ima
This is why the company has launched the Airbnb Rural Bootcamp, designed to help rural communities and entrepreneurs access training on hospitality, platform operation, and learning about the future of the travel industry.
The Balearic Islands and northern Spain were the regions where hosts typically made the most money in summer 2020, reaching $2,230 in Cantabria while in rural areas, the average was $1100. In beach areas, Formentera hosts reached almost $3,300 during peak season.
Casañas added that there has been a general downward shift in rental prices, but that it depends on many factors, as "much of it is also due to a change in destination preferences or type of stay."
Measures to tackle COVID-19
Safety remains a primary concern in the travel industry and for travelers, so Airbnb is pulling out all the stops to regain consumer confidence and guarantee an experience that meets health and safety regulations.
One of the measures they've introduced is a Health Safety Attestation that allows hosts to demand that guests prove they are free from COVID-19 symptoms and have not been exposed to the virus.
Casañas said such making guests feel safe at their destination and guaranteeing access to testing and hospitals would have more impact than measures like vaccine passports, but this would have to be well-implemented.
Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images
Last year, they also introduced an Advanced Cleaning Protocol, with hosts being able to show their commitment to it and receiving a highlight on their page in return to show their subscription to the protocol.
"The protocol we have for cleanliness is not just about cleanliness," Casañas said. "We also require that a safe distance is maintained or that both the traveler and the host are wearing masks. In other words, there is a range of measures that both are committed to upholding" says Casañas.
"Don't despair"
Casañas has an optimistic attitude to the future, although travel will undoubtedly change after the pandemic.
CEO Brian Chesky said people would now be more likely to travel for leisure and business trips would reduce.
Casañas also sees the desire to travel and the expected increase in bookings as signs that the situation will improve.
"People, especially Germans, usually booked in January or February for the summer. This year they are going to wait to book at the last minute," she said.
As for a message for hosts and entrepreneurs, Casañas said, "Don't despair. Although bookings might have already been there in previous years, it doesn't mean they won't come through this year - they might come later because we're seeing that the booking window has been reduced a lot this year. But the desire and the will to travel is still there."
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