Airbnb hopes to launch an Initial Public Offering (IPO) despite the financial disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Monday, Airbnb's registration document[1] reveals the firm's intent to pursue a public share sale.
The prospect of an IPO was previously thought to be under threat due to the catastrophic economic impact of COVID-19, which as a global, short-term rental platform, Airbnb has also felt the sting.
The company's bookings crashed by 72% in April in comparison to the same month last year, as reported by sister site CNET[2]. However, in the June-September period, rebookings rebounded -- and although still down by 20% in comparison to 2019, this may show signs of a slow recovery.
Airbnb cited a surge in increased domestic travel and the work from home trend as reasons for this increase in bookings.
"People wanted to get out of their homes and yearned to travel, but they did not want to go far or to be in crowded hotel lobbies," Airbnb's filing reads. "Domestic travel quickly rebounded on Airbnb around the world as millions of guests took trips closer to home. Stays of longer than a few days started increasing as work-from-home became work-from-any-home on Airbnb."
Airbnb reportedly hopes to raise up to $3 billion[3] in the public stock offering.
However, the company notes that there are a number of risk factors associated with investment. The COVID-19 pandemic, the firm's net losses -- with an accumulated deficit of $1.4 billion and $2.1 billion as of December 31, 2019, and September 30, 2020, respectively, and concerns surrounding discriminative booking-acceptance practices and safety were also cited.