Global investors are cashing big time on the world’s biggest online vacation rental company, popularly referred to as Airbnb.
Following a remarkable comeback, the company’s share began trading on at its debut for $146 per share, more than double its initial public offer price and values the business at more than $100 billion.
The recent valuation of Airbnb represents a major leap, taking into account its previous valuation high of $31 billion in a 2017 financing round.
At its present trading valuation, Airbnb is more valuable than Uber, and more than two leading hospitality giants Hilton and Marriott combined.
What this means
The amazing surge seen in Airbnb’s stock price lately revealed the strong bias of global investors towards its business model and the latest signal in what’s shaping up to be a good week for the company.
- Airbnb, the biggest and most popular vacation online rental marketplace, known for disrupting the hospitality industry, is now listed on the Nasdaq, under the ticker symbol ‘ABNB’.
- Airbnb has become a household name amongst millennials and a growing middle-class population, as it has changed the hold big hotel businesses had on the accommodation industry, leading hotels to reform their business strategies.
- Airbnb is an online marketplace that allows individuals to let out their apartments or spare rooms to intended guests, at prices often lower than hotels.
- Airbnb makes a cut of 3% commission of every booking from those individuals listing their apartments on Airbnb’s platform, and between 6% and 12% from guests that book via its platform.
What you should know
Nairametrics, a few days ago, did an in-depth analysis on why it felt the company’s IPO might be worth your money.
Though, Airbnb’s seeming entry into the public market looks new, the business has built a consistent pathway of generating impressive revenue that it’s closest rivals (Bookings, Expedia) would turn green at.
- Last year alone, Airbnb’s gross bookings earnings of $38 billion were 35% that of Expedia and 39% of Booking Holdings Inc., and it kept the momentum fired up, that it closed it amazingly to 62% and 64%, respectively, when taking to account the recent year to date periodicity.
