In premarket trading on Wednesday, shares of Airbnb fell about 16%. The online travel company had already predicted lower revenue for the third quarter, citing slower demand in the US and shorter booking periods.
Since the beginning of the year, domestic travel in the US has been under pressure as more and more Americans have become wary of spending money on travel due to concerns about the state of the economy.
Booking was the most recent online travel agency to issue a warning about shorter booking lead times globally; this is the number of days between the date of the reservation and the actual arrival. Airbnb is the latest to follow this trend.
A smaller booking window suggests that customers may be planning trips at the last minute due to increased uncertainty and prudent spending.
Elinor Mertz, chief financial officer of Airbnb, mentioned the softness in long booking lead periods as a major component in its outlook during a teleconference with analysts on Tuesday.
