Airbnb reports huge loss after pandemic hits travel

Airbnb has reported big losses (Eric Risberg/AP)

Home-sharing site Airbnb has posted a 3.9 billion dollar (£2.8bn) loss in the fourth quarter of 2020 as it suffered from the pandemic downturn in travel.

In results released on Thursday — Airbnb’s first as a publicly traded entity — the company took a charge of 2.8 billion dollar (£2bn) for stock compensation related to its flotation. A year earlier, Airbnb lost 352 million dollars (£251m).