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Not sure how AirBnB has a $100 billion market cap. The use case for an AirBnB, which is mostly large group travel, seems limited when comparing to the use case for a hotel (every other type of travel). Marriott and Hyatt combined have a lower market cap than AirBnB.

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Airbnb has a PE of 22 and is a money printing machine. Airbnb makes 10x the profit of Hyatt, which has a PE of 75.

Use case of hotels might be bigger, but it is a highly contended market. Airbnb has a huge chunk of a smaller market.

Also, the margins are much better on hosting a website than building hotels and paying thousands of service employees.

What is PE?

Price to earnings. Market cap divided by profit. It is loosly associated with how long until you can make back your investment with current revenue.

If you have a business that makes $1/year after costs and taxes and are selling it for $20, your P/E is 20.

i suppose price/earnings ratio

https://www.investopedia.com/terms/p/price-earningsratio.asp

Price to earnings ratio, or P/E, is a way to value a company by comparing the price of a stock to its earnings. The P/E equals the price of a share of stock, divided by the company's earnings-per-share. It tells you how much you are paying for each dollar of earnings.

On the flip side, Hyatt has billions of dollars of equity in real estate (which appreciates in value while not technically generating a profit), while AirBnB has an online marketplace. Presumably that's part of the PE difference.

Most branded hotels are not owned by the hotel brand. The hotel brand sells the brand name and (presumed) quality control, but different businesses usually own the real estate, such as REITs or other types of hotel owners.

Extended Stay America is an exception to this, they own all of their real estate.

Also, unrealized gains in real estate would be priced similarly by investors for both Hyatt and Airbnb, so that would not make a difference to P/E.

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