🚐 Airbnb's travel-ution

Welcome to workationland... Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky predicts a revolution: a travel revolution. At a conference this week, Chesky said he expects the industry to bounce back bigger than ever. Chesky believes a “travel revolution” will usher in a new golden age of travel, that’s more free-style than pre-pandemic travel. What he expects:

• Long stays: 50% of Airbnb stays are a week or more, and 20% exceed a month.
• Loose plans: 40% of travelers don’t initially have a destination or date in mind when they visit Airbnb’s site.
• Rural > urban: Rental occupancy in large US cities fell 11% this year from pre-pandemic levels, but increased 27% in rural areas.

You say you want a travel-ution… Airbnb is a comeback story of the corona-conomy. The rental icon lost 80% of its business when the pandemic hit. But it quickly embraced the work-from-home life and catered to changing travel trends. Since then, sales have rebounded to exceed pre-pandemic levels. How Airbnb’s ushering in the travel-ution:

• “I’m Flexible” options let travelers go anywhere, anytime. Handy, since 70% of US companies will continue offering flexible and remote work.
• Unique stays like boat houses, yurts, caves, and even shipping containers cater to adventure-hungry, couch-tired remote workers (#edgy).
• Off-the-beaten-track options in rural allow travelers to stay socially distanced as part of Airbnb’s “Greatest Outdoors” campaign.
• Online experiences, like a Mezcal & Tequila Cocktail Masterclass, give travelers Covid-safe options.

Square-toe heels out in public... Princess Polly just hit the US public market. You've probably seen Gen Z “microinfluencers” doing hauls of its clothes (#PollyHaul). The trendy online fashion boutique, owned by A.K.A Brands, is one of the first fast-fashionistas to hit Wall Street since ASOS. Like ultra-fast fashion giant Shein, A.K.A churns out 500 to 800 styles per week across its brands, which include Princess Polly, Petal & Pup, and Rebdolls. But A.K.A. shares fell 9% after their NYSE debut.

• Used > new... Fast-fashion isn't so fashionable anymore. Recommerce and thrifting have been #thriving recently thanks to enviro-focused Zillennials.
• Wild stat: The fashion industry is responsible for 10% of global carbon emissions — and fast-fashion is one of the worst offenders.

Recycled t-shirt bidding war... The ~$30B fast-fashion market is projected to grow 22% this year from 2020 – but younger consumers don't love the environmental price tag, and are willing to pay extra for more sustainable fashion. Now, fast-fashion brands are trying to hop on the green wave. Polly launched an "Earth Club" and started using "low-impact" clothing material, H&M plans to use 30% recycled materials by 2025, and UK-based BooHoo pledged to halve emissions by 2030.

• Booted: Apple denied Epic Games' request to bring Fortnite back to the App Store, saying it won't reinstate Epic's developer account until their legal battle ends.
• Amplify: Facebook's Zuck is getting heat for signing off on a proposed initiative which involved pushing positive news stories and ads about FB to users.
• Vaxing: United Airlines has been accused of unlawfully denying employee exemptions to vaccine mandates, like religious and medical exemptions.
• Primed: Amazon's upcoming physical department stores could feature high-tech dressing rooms, QR codes, and the Zon's own clothing brands.
• Flated: Cheerios-maker General Mills says to expect higher prices as inflation and labor shortages continue to squeeze its operations.
• Score: Chinese fintech giant Ant Financial, which has over 1B+ users, will fully share consumer credit data with the Chinese government.

• Jobless claims
• Earnings expected from Nike, Accenture, Costco, Darden Restaurants, and Rite Aid

Authors of this Snacks own shares of: Apple, Amazon, Netflix

ID: 1848112