Airbnb is coming back in a big way

• Click to share on Facebook (Opens in a new window)
• Click to share on Twitter (Opens in a new window)
• Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in a new window)
• Click to email a friend (Opens in a new window)

Airbnb registered an increase in domestic bookings in the United States, Portugal, Germany and South Korea.

(CNN Business) - Here's another sign that boreal summer travel is picking up: Airbnb said it is experiencing a surge in bookings as customers emerge from several months of being locked up in their homes due to covid-19.

Airbnb revealed that it had more bookings in the United States between May 17 and June 3 this year, which spanned Memorial Day on May 25, than in the same period last year. That indicates that Americans are ready to travel, albeit primarily within the United States.

Airbnb chief executive Brian Chesky said he noted that travelers prefer to stay in domestic destinations that they can reach by driving within a radius of about 320 kilometers from homes (200 miles). Disruptions in international travel restrictions are making it difficult for people to explore destinations outside their home countries.

In an interview with Bloomberg, Chesky said that clients are booking for a week or more due to the change to remote work.

"Working from home is becoming working from any home," he told Bloomberg.

It has also seen an increase in domestic reserves in Portugal, Germany and South Korea.

The increase in bookings comes from a low baseline after the global travel industry stopped in late winter as the covid-19 spread. Chesky said he expects this year's revenue to be half that of last year.

MIRA: This is what traveling to Hong Kong is like. Will this be the future of international travel after the coronavirus?

However, the company's long-awaited initial public offering may still come this year due to increased business.

"We are not ruling out making the public offering this year and we are not committing to making it," Chesky said.

Airbnb, like other companies in the travel industry, has had a terrible few months. The San Francisco-based company laid off a quarter of its workforce in May and redirected its efforts toward rents and offering experiences. Some hosts are even selling their properties due to the sharp decline in reservations.

Chesky also said that travelers are choosing to drive within the safe space of their own cars instead of flying. But the airline industry shows otherwise: American Airlines said last week that it was beefing up its July calendar after better-than-expected demand growth, particularly for travel to Florida and mountain destinations in the west. Its shares rose 50% last week. United is also restoring some important international routes.

Airbnb