Airbnb’s Growth Plan, Wyndham’s New Forecast and Hyatt’s Trimmed Outlook

Today’s podcast looks at Airbnb, Wyndham, and Hyatt’s mixed first-quarter earnings.

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Airbnb’s core business — nights booked — has struggled to record double-digit growth recently. Executive Editor Dennis Schaal delves into the company’s strategy for getting back to that mark.

CEO Brian Chesky cited international expansion as a potential big driver of growth during the company’s earnings call on Thursday. Airbnb said its key expansion markets — including Italy, Germany, and Japan — grew more than twice as fast as Airbnb’s core markets.

Chesky added that bringing more high-quality hotels onto the platform is part of Airbnb’s plan. The company recently launched a promotion where guests who book on HotelTonight, which Airbnb acquired in 2019, get a 10% credit on Airbnb.

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Next, Wyndham has lowered its growth forecast for the year following weaker-than-expected travel demand in March. But the company is optimistic about growth opportunities tied to infrastructure projects, writes Senior Hospitality Editor Sean O’Neill.

Wyndham now forecasts this year’s global revenue per available room to be between a 2% decline and 1% growth. That’s down from the company’s previous outlook of 2-3% growth. But CEO Geoff Ballotti also expressed optimism that the Trump administration’s plans to ramp up spending on highway and bridge construction could increase hotel demand. Wyndham projected last year that infrastructure spending would drive over 3 billion dollars in room revenue to their hotels over the next 8 to 10 years.

In addition, Wyndham reported it opened a record 15,000 rooms in the first quarter, a 13% jump from last year.

Finally, Hyatt has trimmed its full-year outlook as executives said it’s dealing with “greater macro uncertainty,” writes Senior Hospitality Editor Sean O’Neill.

Hyatt now anticipates revenue per available room to increase 1% to 3% this year. That forecast comes after a strong first quarter saw close to 6% growth. CEO Mark Hoplmazian said the company has seen both “softer booking trends” and a "choppy environment."

One bright spot for Hyatt is that its luxury brands registered an 8% growth in revenue per available room during the first quarter.