AirBnb posted a loss of $3.9 billion for Q4 2020 in the company's first earnings report since it went public back in December.

The company generated $859 million in revenue in the same period — down 22% from a year earlier (just before the outbreak of the global pandemic).

According to the report, a large part of AirBnb's loss was due to IPO-related costs, alongside $827 million in accounting adjustments for an emergency loan the company took out to survive the pandemic.

Despite massive losses, AirBnb CEO Brian Chesky is optimistic that travel will eventually recover and the company will flourish once again.

He predicts that post-pandemic travel will likely be driven by longer stays, as more people are able to work from home virtually today.

Airbnb is also investing heavily in customer experience, with plans to significantly simplify the platform to allow users to book/host stays in under 10 minutes.

Chesky also added that he is hopeful that the rollout of the vaccine will lead to a "post-pandemic travel boom" that will continue to favor AirBnB over the traditional hotel industry.

"We have been encouraged by our continued resilience and recovery, and are optimistic about the upcoming travel rebound. We do believe the travel rebound is coming and we think it’s going to be a very big rebound," mentioned Brian Chesky, CEO of AirBnB.