Analyst Note
| Dan Wasiolek |Booking shares flew higher by 10% on stellar first-quarter bookings of $27.3 billion, which represented 107% of 2019 levels, up notably from 92% last quarter. Further, April bookings were 130% of 2019 levels, as European and other international travel is accelerating with reduced COVID-19 restrictions. To this point, international room nights were nearly back to 2019 levels in April versus a 70% mark in the first quarter, driven by Europe room nights at a high-teen percentage above prepandemic levels in April (over 30% when excluding Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine). Also, summer bookings in Western Europe are 130% above 2019 levels.