LIZ: AIRBNB SHARES DOWN ABOUT
TWO AND TWO-THIRDS PERCENT AFTER
BANK OF AMERICA SLASHED THE
PRICE TARGET OF THE HOME
SHARING GIANT BY $28 TO $160 A
SHARE.
NEVER MIND THAT IT’S WELL-BELOW
THAT AT 113, BANK OF AMERICA
SAYS WALL STREET IS TURNING
NEGATIVE ON CONSUMER SPENDING
AND THE RISK IS NOW STARTING TO
AFFECT THE TRAVEL INDUSTRY, BANK
OF AMERICA IS LOOKING FOR LOWER
SUMMER BOOKINGS AS A POSSIBILITY
NOW.
SO AT 113, AIRBNB RIGHT NOW IS
DOWN, I WANT TO SAY LET’S SAY
YEAR-TO-DATE IT LOOKS LIKE IT’S
A LOSS OF ABOUT 32%, BUT YOU
KNOW, CEO BRIAN CHESKY TOLD US
TWO WEEKS AGO HE’S EXPECTING THE
BIGGEST RECOVERY IN TRAVEL
SINCE WORLD WAR II.
WHAT DOES WALL STREET SEE THAT
TRAVEL COMPANIES IS NOT AT LEAST
UNTIL NOW SEEN?
LET’S GET A READ ON WHAT’S
HAPPENING IN REALTIME WITH AXLE
HAYSTACKFER, CEO OF TRIVAGO
JOINING US IN A FOX BUSINESS
EXCLUSIVE FROM GERMANY.
AXLE, ONE MINUTE IT’S TRAVEL AS
THE HOTTEST SEARCH ON GOOGLE
AND NOW THEY ARE GETTING COLD
FEET.
ARE THEY RIGHT?
>> I DON’T THINK SO.
WE ARE VERY EXCITED AND WE THINK
THE SUMMER WILL BE VERY VERY
STRONG AND IN FACT WE JUST
FINISHED A CONSUMER STUDY WHERE
83% OF CONSUMERS EXPECT THE BEST
SUMMER EVER, SO I THINK WALL
STREET IS WRONG.
LIZ: WHERE ARE THEY GETTING THAT
AND I STARTED TO THINK AND MAYBE
THEY ARE TRIANGULATING FROM
SOMETHING VERY REAL AND THAT IS
THE WORST INFLATION WE’VE SEEN
IN DECADES.
PEOPLE AT FIRST WERE SAYING YOU
KNOW WHAT?
I’LL PAY THESE PRICES BUT
SUDDENLY, WE WERE LOOKING AT
SOME OF THE COMPONENTS OF THE
CONSUMER PRICE INDEX,
INFLATION AT THE CONSUMER LEVEL.
AIRFARE.
AIRFARE PRICES JUMPED 18% PLUS
MONTH OVER MONTH WHICH TO ME,
WAS PRETTY SHOCKING.
THAT WAS THE BIGGEST JUMP SINCE
THEY BEGAN KEEPING RECORDS FOR
CONSUMER INFLATION.
THAT WAS BACK IN 1963, SO I’M
JUST WONDERING ARE YOU STILL
SEEING CONSUMER OUT THERE
WILLING TO PAY THESE PRICES AS
THEY CONTINUE TO RISE.
>> ABSOLUTELY, AND I THINK THE
ONE THING THAT THE WALL
STREET IS UNDERESTIMATING IS THE
STRONG NEED FOR REALLY A
SUMMER BREAK AND WE’VE SEEN THAT
EVEN IN 2020 AND 2021 THAT
COMING OUT OF LOCKDOWN PERIOD,
THAT CONSUMERS AROUND THE WORLD
JUST NEED A BREAK AND THEY JUST
NEED TO TRAVEL TO GET A BREAK
AND MORE FLEXIBLE IN TERMS OF
DESTINATION WHERE THEY GO TO.
IT DOESN’T HAVE TO BE A LONG
TRIP.
IT CAN BE A BIT CLOSER BY, AND
SO THAT, I THINK, WILL COUNTER
THE INFLATION ARGUMENT OR
OVERCOMPENSATE THE INFLATION
ARGUMENT AND TO BE HONEST FROM
OUR BUSINESS MODEL PERSPECTIVE,
IF THERE’S MORE COST
CONSCIOUSNESS THAT IS GOOD, IF
YOU HELP PEOPLE TO COMPARE
PRICES.
LIZ: WHAT ARE SOME OF THE
BIGGEST TRENDS YOU’RE SEEING
ON YOUR SITE?
>> WHAT YOU’RE SEEING IS THAT
FOR SUMMER, IT’S CLEARLY AGAIN
BEACH AND THEN DEPENDING ON
WHERE URLS A MOUNTAIN
DESTINATION SO THE CLASSIC
SUMMER VACATION, VERY VERY
POPULAR AND BIG, BIG BUMP AND
STRONG DEMAND, BUT WE’RE ALSO
SEEING THAT THE TOP DESTINATIONS
LIKE DUBAI, LONDON, ET CETERA,
ARE COMING BACK.
MORE SLOWLY --
LIZ: LET ME JUST JUMP IN HERE
WHAT I WAS GOING TO SEE IS WE’VE
STARTED TO SEE THE CRUISE
INDUSTRY SHOWING REAL SIGNS OF
ROBUST BOOKINGS.
WE HAD CARNIVAL ANNOUNCING
REALLY STRONG BOOKINGS A COUPLE
OF QUARTERS AGO, AND NOW, THE
STOCKS ARE FLUCTUATING
MOSTLY DOWN, SO HOW DOES THAT
PART OF THE INDUSTRY LOOK?
>> TO BE HONEST WITH YOU I
DON’T HAVE ANYTHING WITH THE
CRUISE SECTOR BUT IT’S NOT A
SURPRISE TO ME.
IF YOU DON’T SEE THE PANDEMIC IN
DAILY LIFE ANYMORE, IT’S NOT A
SURPRISE PEOPLE ARE MORE
COMFORTABLE TO GO BACK ON CRUISE
SHIPS, BUT WE DON’T HAVE ANY
BUSINESS RELATIONSHIPS WITH THE
CRUISE SHIP BUSINESS.
LIZ: SO YOU HAVE A BIG INVESTOR
AND THAT BE EXPEDIA.
OBVIOUSLY, THEY ARE IN THE SAME
INDUSTRY AS YOU.
OVERALL IN THE AGGREGATE, WHAT
IS THE HIGHEST NUMBER YOU EXPECT
WHEN IT COMES TO TRAVEL BOOKINGS
AND THE SEARCH FOR BIG PACKAGES
AND OPPORTUNITIES TO SEE THE
BEACHES AS YOU PUT IT
THIS SUMMER.
>> SO FAR, FOR BEACH
DESTINATIONS I DO THINK THAT IN
MOST DESTINATIONS YOU WILL SEE
VOLUMES THAT ARE HIGHER THAN
2019.
FOR CITIES WE DO EXPECT THAT IT
WILL TAKE A BIT LONGER TO GET
BACK TO 2019, FOR TRIPS IN
NEW YORK, ET CETERA.
BUSINESS TRAVEL AS A LAST
SEGMENT WILL LAG EVEN FURTHER
BUT DEPENDING ON THE BUSINESS
MIX YOU’LL SEE DIFFERENT
RECOVERY RATES.
LIZ: WE’D EXPECT THAT.
AXLE, HANG IN THERE.
WHAT YOU’RE SAYING THAT WALL
STREET IS WRONG ON THIS , AND I
SUPPOSE THE NUMBERS WILL PLAY