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Monday 9 November, 2020
TOP STORY
Airbnb to file for $30bn+ IPO this week
Airbnb will file the necessary IPO documents this week before its stock market debut in December, which could give the company a valuation of more than $30 billion.
If you missed our last newsletter....
1. Plum Guide secures Future Fund backing
2. Google increases lobbying against EU act
3. Insurtech startup Steadily raises $3.8m in funding
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5. Sonder planning for further expansion into Irish market
6. Calls for support for struggling UK hospitality businesses
Editor's comment
09•11•20 Welcome to the latest ShortTermRentalz newsletter!
• As Airbnb edges closer to a stock market debut by the end of the year, the news that the home-sharing platform is due to file its IPO documents this week will provide the first in-depth look at its business and how it has shifted the focus of its inventory away from a core urban market towards leisure destinations, which could culminate in a company valuation exceeding $30 billion.
Expected to be one of the largest stock market listings of the year, Airbnb's public debut follows on from a bumper year of US-based IPOs. At the end of October, there had been 343 initial public offerings since the start of the year, a 77 per cent rise on the same period a year ago, as companies seek to defy the Covid-19 pandemic and raise funding for future growth from new investors.
An analysis this week by vacation rental data provider Transparent offered a fascinating outlook into what Airbnb's IPO would mean for the industry and how the company would use the investment to drive growth.
Firstly, the majority of Airbnb's business was decimated by lockdowns around the world, leading to major cutbacks in marketing, new initiatives and its own workforce, but its recovery in recent months has been even more striking. The platform is not just hungry for innovation and growth; it wants to create new categories of lodging, redefine other aspects of travel and enhance the Airbnb experience.
Secondly, the additional funding Airbnb will generate could be invested into initiatives it had to let go by the wayside earlier in the pandemic, such as the Plus and Experiences programs, as well as make a more concerted push for the longer-term stays segment. The company already knows it can broaden its appeal to a mass audience of nomadic-living individuals who can work from anywhere and live like a local anywhere.
Ultimately though, awareness of the vacation rental segment has skyrocketed since the start of the pandemic as guests turn their attention away from more traditional asset classes such as hotels towards accommodation that better suits their needs for greater professional and personal flexibility. As such, the short-term rental industry will not have to be simply dismissed as "alternative accommodations" as more and more travellers experience the privacy and seclusion that rentals offer and that hotels do not.
Watch my thoughts on Airbnb's IPO back in September here.
• Due to the latest government lockdown announcement for England, we have rescheduled our Urban Living Lite series of curated face-to-face events. They will now run from 1-5 March 2021 - click here for the full schedule.
• We also confirmed that our annual Shortyz Awards would be returning for 2021 with six new categories being announced. The entry period for the Shortyz will open later this month and further details about what you can look forward to for our 2021 event will be announced shortly.
If you have a story you want us to tell the industry, please click here or contact me at my email below.
Paul Stevens, editor
paul@internationalhospitality.media
For more information and sponsorship / advertising opportunities, please get in touch with us.
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