Eventbrite Projections Falter Amid Coronavirus Impact on Events

The recent earnings call from Eventbrite demonstrated a strong finish in 2019’s fourth quarter, but coronavirus dampened the company’s positive outlook. The announcement that Eventbrite retained 70 percent of Ticketfly’s book of business quelled lingering doubts surrounding Eventbrite’s handling of its Ticketfly integration last year. Revenue for the year increased 12 percent year-over-year at $327 million.

Eventbrite also noted, however, the upcoming impact on event ticket sales due to the spread of coronavirus. The company adjusted its 2020 revenue projections based on the anticipated effects of the outbreak, coming in significantly lower than industry predictions.

Investors reacted negatively to last Thursday’s earnings call, causing Eventbrite stock to drop 18 percent the next day. Despite plans to reinvest in product development and reliability in 2020, it’s still not clear how much of an impact coronavirus will have on Eventbrite and the events industry as a whole.

If you have any feedback about the newsletter or news tips, feel free to reach out via email at [email protected].

— Lauren Ward, Events Editor

For updates on the outbreak, see the Skift LiveBlog: Coronavirus and the Travel Industry

The Future of Meetings and Events

Coronavirus Concerns Overshadow Eventbrite’s Strong Year-End Finish: Eventbrite closed 2019 stronger than expected, but company stock still stumbled after last week’s earnings call. The events industry is clearly at the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak.

European Tourism Losing More Than $1 Billion a Month From Virus: It’s not just Chinese tourists who aren’t visiting Europe anymore. Expect the economic losses to steepen.

Travelers Frustrated by Plastic Alternatives Offered by Companies: Reducing plastic waste is just step one. Step two is implementing alternatives to plastic. But how do companies get travelers on board if the alternatives are flawed? Part of the answer lies in forthright communication.

Around the Industry

Amadeus Highlights Meager 1 Percent Air Traffic Growth in 2020 Outside China: Amadeus, the world’s largest provider of ticket distribution and operational software for airlines, is a bellwether for the sector. It had a weak February, but it expects a rebound later this year. The outlook for airlines, however, is less optimistic.

Best Western: A Hotels Anomaly Ripe for Change: Best Western’s unique longstanding model gives much power to its member hotels. But as changes quickly alter the industry’s landscape, can the chain still compete effectively under the old ways?

TripActions Breaks Into Financial Technology: TripActions has made the savvy Silicon Valley play of embracing financial technology while the sector is hot. Whether its new product represents anything truly fresh in corporate travel is a whole other story.

The Best of EventMB

The Best of EventMB is our newest section, giving you a look into key content from EventMB, whether it be reports, articles, or resources for planners. EventMB joined the Skift family in September and is the largest online media resource for trends, technology, innovation, and education in the events industry.

Parsing Rhetoric From Real Risk: Lessons From ITB’s Journey to Cancellation: As countries across the world anticipate a pandemic, many in events are deferring to global health organizations to determine their fates.

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Events Editor Lauren Ward [[email protected]] curates the Skift Meetings Innovation Report. Skift emails the newsletter every Wednesday.