Shares of Airbnb rallied in heavy trading volume Friday. The gains pushed Airbnb stock near a 154.95 buy point from a long consolidation pattern, according to IBD MarketSmith.
The San Francisco-based online travel platform is reportedly adding an additional guest fee for cross-currency booking. Starting in April, the guest service fee on Airbnb will increase from 14.2% to 16.5% on cross-currency transactions, as Airbnb explained on its website. Bloomberg reported the change Friday afternoon.
The changes comes as Airbnb is pushing further into international travel. While North America still represents the majority of its bookings, Airbnb's fastest growing markets in its third-quarter earnings report were the Asia-Pacific region and Latin America. Cross-border nights booked grew by 17% in the third quarter compared to a year ago, the company said in November.
In a note to clients Friday, BTIG analyst Jake Fuller estimated the change could add $290 million in revenue for Airbnb in 2024, based on estimated 111 million nights booked cross-currency. Fuller holds a neutral rating on Airbnb stock.
Overall, analysts project Airbnb will have about $11 billion in total revenue for 2024, according to FactSet.
ABNB stock climbed 5.3% to close at 149.62 on today's stock market.
Airbnb Stock: Consolidation Pattern
Airbnb stock racked up big gains in the first half of 2023, landing itself a spot in the S&P 500.
Since then, shares have settled into a long consolidation pattern that dates back to July, MarketSmith shows. A 52-week high of 154.95 reached in July is the current buy point on the pattern, according to MarketSmith.
Airbnb has not set a date for its fourth-quarter earnings yet but is expected to report in mid-February, according to FactSet.
