Airbnb plans to sign up for an IPO in August, according to a Wall Street Journal report. That means we could sometimes see a mention this year, although the exact timeline will depend on the Security and Exchange Commission review process and what the market looks like. Per de Journal, the company has tapped Morgan Stanley to lead the offering, with Goldman Sachs “playing a key role”.
The news comes at a time when Airbnb is facing high costs and additional hassle due to COVID-19. The giant of home parts lost hundreds of millions after the trip from the pandemic ground to a standstill and caused bookings to tank in cities around the world. The company had to spend millions in refunds to hosts whose guests cancel their stay.
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Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge
Airbnb was valued at $ 18 billion in April – a significant drop from the $ 31 billion price tag it received at its last fundraising round in 2017. The company raised $ 1 billion in funding in the April round , with a steep price tag including a 10 percent interest rate and (reportedly) a verbal commitment to reduce fixed costs and strengthen management. (However, the extra funds could help the company warm up to the pandemic.) In May, the company fired a quarter of its employees and pumped up the brakes on plans to expand to TV and transportation.
Even before COVID-19 hit the US, things did not look great. Airbnb hit a loss of $ 322 million in the first nine months of 2019.
However, Airbnb is something that has returned: bookings have started to increase year over year.
Bookings trending more to locations within 200 miles of customers’ homes, indicating that customers have moved vacations to domestic stays (not surprisingly, given travel restrictions worldwide) and prefer car traffic over flights.
Airbnb declined to comment for this story.
