As travel companies continue to report their third quarter 2023 results, we round up earnings from Vacasa, HomeToGo, AmexGBT and Despegar.
Vacasa
Gross booking value for the vacation rental company decreased 14% to $830 million in Q3 versus the same quarter in 2022. The company said the decline was due to a 14% year-over-year decrease in gross booking value per night sold as well as a slight decrease in nights sold.
Revenue for the company, mostly made up of commission on rents generated for homeowners, fees collected from guests as well as revenue from home care solutions provided to owners, was down 8% to $379 million year over year.
Vacasa made a net loss of $402 million for the third quarter while adjusted EBITDA was $74 million for the period, up from $46 million year over year.
Rob Greyber, CEO of Vacasa, said, "We are still navigating a dynamic macroeconomic and industry environment. Demand for our category in leisure markets looks different today than during the highs of 2021 and 2022. And while reservation volume remains robust, many homeowners across the industry are now making less from their homes than in those prior years. While these dynamics have challenged our business in recent periods, notably in revenue and homeowner retention, we remain highly focused on delivering for our homeowners and guests. And once again, we generated millions in income for our homeowners during the third quarter."
HomeToGo
Booking revenue for the Germany-based vacation rental platform increased 7% to €45 million, attributed to cost per acquisition business with the company reporting a CPA take rate of almost 12%, up two percentage points year over year.
Quarterly revenue for HomeToGo reached a "record high quarterly figure" of almost €74 million, up 6% year over year. However, the company has revised its full-year 2023 revenue guidance down from €165-175 million to €158-162 million because of softer peak season demand and pressure on booking demand for the remainder of 2023. Adjusted EBITDA came in at €28 million, which the company said reflects a higher marketing efficiency.
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The subscriptions and services unit brought in revenue of €12 million, up 42% year over year and accounting for 19% of HomeToGo total revenues for the nine months through September.
Patrick Andrae, co-founder and CEO of HomeToGo, said, "HomeToGo has once again delivered record high quarterly results despite industry-wide softer demand in our core markets in July and August. Our strong figures include our highest ever quarterly IFRS revenues, with our third quarter results even surpassing our full-year 2019 IFRS revenues. This continued progress across all business pillars is a result of our commitment to our long-term sustainable performance. Looking ahead, we already saw booking behaviors start to rebound at the end of the third quarter with the majority of bookings planned for 2024. We remain fully confident to reach our number one priority of adjusted EBITDA break-even in full-year 2023."
Amex GBT
Corporate travel specialist Amex GBT narrowed losses in the third quarter of 2023 with the company reporting a net loss of $8 million, down from a loss of $73 million year over year.
Total transaction value was up 8% for the company in Q3 2023 while revenue increased 17% to $571 million year over year. The company also reported a 16% increase in revenue for product and professional services to $116 million.
Adjusted EBITDA came it at $95 million, up 135% year over year.
Paul Abbott, Amex GBT’s chief executive officer, said, "In the third quarter, we again delivered outstanding financial results with revenue growth of 17%, significant margin expansion and positive year-to-date free cash flow. We remain highly focused on continuing to drive further margin expansion through our ongoing cost savings initiatives and Egencia synergies. This, combined with continued share gains and record SME new wins, gives us the confidence to reiterate our full-year 2023 revenue and adjusted EBITDA guidance and increase our expectation for full-year 2023 free cash flow."
Despegar
Latin American online travel agency Despegar reported a 25% increase to gross bookings of $1.4 billion in Q3.
The company saw revenue increase 22% year over year to $178 million while adjusted EBITDA was up 106% to almost $25 million.
Despegar also reported growth in loyalty program members of 113% to almost 20 million alongside an increase in transactions made via the OTA's mobile app hitting just over 40% of total transactions in the quarter.
Damian Scokin, CEO of Despegar, said, “We delivered a record-breaking quarter in terms of gross bookings and revenue, as we continue advancing our growth strategy and effectively capitalizing on the strong demand environment. Our strategy to expand non-air and travel package sales, coupled with significant gains in our B2C and B2B verticals, continue driving strong profitable growth, all underpinned by Despegar’s best-in-class technology platform. Another key near- and long-term growth driver is our exceptional brand recognition, which is helping us gain market share in the region’s under penetrated and expanding travel market. That brand strength is reflected in surging use of our apps, while steadily rising loyalty membership reaffirms our status as Latin America’s premier travel technology company.”