RIYADH: Posting record revenue in 2021, Airbnb has emerged as one of the biggest beneficiaries in the struggling travel industry that is trying to recover from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. The San Francisco-based home-rental giant said it expects exponential booking this year as well, which may even exceed the pre-pandemic level in the first quarter that ends on March 31, the Wall Street Journal reported. The company expects $1.48 billion in revenues in the first quarter higher than the estimated average. Airbnb said it has 6 million active listings now, while it was 5.6 million a year ago. “We had our best year in the company’s history despite still being in the midst of a pandemic,” Brian Chesky, co-founder, and chief executive of Airbnb said on a call with analysts.