Feb 22 (Reuters) - Online travel agent Booking Holdings beat analysts' expectations for fourth-quarter profit on Thursday, driven by a strong recovery in Asian markets.

Travel companies are seeing a return of travel demand in Asia, especially in China, but demand in the United States has been returning to normal levels after a post-pandemic spike from "revenge travel".

Booking said room night bookings in the United States was flat in the fourth quarter, compared to Asia growth in the mid-teens.

Shares of the company were down about 10% in aftermarket trading.

Travel companies are tempering expectations for 2024, after a post-pandemic boost in travel demand.

Earlier this month, hotel operators Hilton Worldwide and Marriott International and online travel agency Expedia flagged that they expected demand to grow more slowly this year.

"Booking growth, as a percent of 2019's level, in the fourth quarter was down a bit from the third quarter. This points to perhaps the beginning of decelerating growth versus just normalization," Morningstar analyst Dan Wasiolek said.

Booking said it expects first-quarter room night growth to be between 4% and 6% and revenue growth to be between 11% and 13%. "Back to the pre-COVID days of super conservative on guidance, which combined with the tough first-quarter comp means, the first-quarter guide looks weak," Reburn Atlantic analyst Alex Brignall said.

The company reported fourth-quarter adjusted profit of $32 per share, compared with analysts' estimate of $29.86 per share, according to LSEG data. (Reporting by Aishwarya Jain and Kannaki Deka in Bengaluru; Editing by Pooja Desai and Maju Samuel)