The number of foreigners reserving Airbnbs in the United States decreased compared to last year and earlier this year, Canadians “traveling at a much lower rate”, according to Airbnb CFO.
Financial director Ellie Mertz said that during Airbnb's first quarter revenues on Thursday that the American reserves of foreign travelers were down, citing “economic uncertainty” as a factor.
“We have absolutely seen a drop in the popularity of foreign travelers coming to the United States,” she said during the call.
“The guests who would have a previous year will come to the United States simply choose a different place,” she added.
The nights reserved by Canadian guests in Mexico increased by 27% between March 2024 and March 2025, according to Airbnb Letter to shareholders on the first quarter gains.
In the calls for results this week, the leaders of Hilton and Booking Holdings, which owns Booking.com, Priceline.com and Kayak, said that Canadian trips to the United States had reported, highlighting Mexico as a place with increases in Canadian visitors.
When calling Airbnb's profits, Merrtz said Canadians were traveling more at the national level. She also said that they visited Mexico, Brazil, France and Japan.
“Right now, it's not necessarily that people don't want to travel, they just use different destinations,” said Mertz.
The Canadians expressed their dissatisfaction with the prices of President Donald Trump and remarks on annexation as another state. Some have boycotted trips to the United States.
Mertz also said that even if Canadians and other international travelers choose destinations outside the United States, foreign travelers to states represent only 3% of Airbnb affairs.
She said that most of the nights reserved for Airbnb in the United States are national travelers, and only a “percentage to a figure” of world-reserved nights come from international travelers in the United States.
Airbnb shares closed around 1% on Friday after the company declared profits that were almost in line with expectations.
The CEO of Airbnb, Brian Chesky, told investors and analysts on the call for profits that he thought that the reservation platform had endured during periods of previous economic stress because it offers travelers options at affordable prices.
“We started Airbnb during the big recession of 2008. People turned to us for a more affordable way to travel, and they started to host Airbnb to win an additional income. Then, in 2020, when the pandemic blow, we provided a way to people to travel near us,” he said. “Today, things seem uncertain again. But just as we have shown in the past, as the world changes, Airbnb will continue to adapt.”
Axel Springer, the parent company of Insider Inc., is an investor in Airbnb.
