Airbnb Goes Public

The global online rental marketplace Airbnb has unveiled it’s plans for it’s market debut on the 10th of December 2020. 

The company has stated their plan to sell 50 million new shares to the public, at a price of $44 to $50 a share.

Although it was expected to take place in spring of this year, Airbnb’s initial public offering (IPO) is set to generate a $35bn valuation, that will bring its worth to pre-pandemic levels. 

Although Covid has disrupted many wanting to travel around the world, Airbnb has stated that “We believe that the lines between travel and living are blurring” as a result of the pandemic and therefore their business model continues to stay afloat during these unusual times. After cutting about 25% of it’s staff in May and a decrease in their annual income, the company started to make a comeback rapidly due to a surge in rentals during the pandemic, as many refuged in private homes as opposed to hotels.

The company are hoping to leverage this popularity by opting to sell shares on the stock market, aiming to raise $2.5 billion in the IPO, assuming an offering of 57 million shares. 

This is extremely beneficial to not only the industry as a whole but also property management companies that partner with Airbnb, such as SMARTHOST, as we continue to utilise their platform and expand our brand reach. 

For investors who are interested, the way in which this is expected to work is that on December 9th the stock will be priced and start trading on the Nasdaq exchange; The following day, it will be under the ticket symbol ‘ABNB’. 

Many speculate as to whether a valuation of $35bn is realistic for the current times we are in, however, having looked at previous IPO’s it is very likely that Airbnb will source enough investors to successfully launch its debut. 

As one of the largest initial public offerings of the year, would you invest?