Airbnb says its short lets business is back almost to 2019 pre-Covid levels in cities, and it reports many work-from-home renters are booking much longer stays.

In a trading statement on its website, referring to its worldwide business, it says it enjoyed a £40.6m profit in the fourth quarter of last year – before the full bounce back after the pandemic could be seen. 

And while the number of nights booked in urban locations almost matched that of the same period of 2019, it appears that bookings in small towns and rural areas are now well ahead of pre-pandemic levels. 

The company also says it expects total nights booked in the first three months of 2022 to exceed pre-pandemic levels for the first time.

And the statement continues: “Guests aren’t just traveling on Airbnb—they’re living on Airbnb. Over the last two years, we have seen the average trip length increase by approximately 15 per cent, with stays of more than seven days now representing nearly half of all gross nights booked. 

“Meanwhile, long-term stays of 28 nights or more remained our fastest growing category by trip length and accounted for 22 per cent of gross nights booked in Q4 2021, up 16 per cent from Q4 2019. 

“The longer guests stay, the more we believe they value the amenities and convenience of staying in a home. Meanwhile, Hosts are responding to this demand for longer stays, as the percentage of active listings accepting stays of 28 nights or longer was over 90 per cent at the end of Q4.”

Airbnb says there are now six million active listings on its site worldwide, with hosts earning a record US$34 billion in 2021.