AirBnB, a home Rental company based in San Francisco has raised $1 billion worth of funds in the form of investments. With the total value amounting to $31bn, the company made revelations about the new fundraising in a disclosure filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Although Airbnb has not yet made any comments regarding how they will take advantage of the funding, industry analysts are of the opinion that the company is marching towards a rapid expansion on a global basis mainly to tap Emerging Markets.
Airbnb establishes operations in 65000 cities globally
Founded by Brian Chesky in 2008, the company has grown significantly with the presence in over 65000 cities worldwide. Interestingly, the company does not reveal either the sales numbers or the estimated projections. The major portion of the revenue is obtained from the rents collected from the homeowners. The company charges service fees from 6 percent to 12 percent from the guests.
No sign of any immediate stock exchange listing
In the meantime, Airbnb has announced that they are not willing to go for an IPO in the upcoming future. The company worked hard for eight years to earn the first profit in Q2 2016. The company disclosed that they are profitable since 2016 and will continue to work hard to make a substantial revenue every quarter.
The company ruled out the possibility of listing the shares on the stock markets in the upcoming future.
Harsh restrictions imposed upon the rental firm
That said, Airbnb had to face widespread criticism over the working model and approach taken by it to collect rents. Moreover, few critics argue that their services contributed to an acute shortage of houses in few regions.
However, the rental firm is facing strict restrictions for providing its services in London, New York, Berlin, and Barcelona.
With an aim to diversify the operations, the company has been offering a wide range of new premium services aimed at enterprise customers. It includes customized tour packages in addition to the ability to interact with local travel experts around the globe.
The primary purpose of Airbnb is to enable people to rent their properties such as a house, apartment at down to earth prices when compared to hotels. The company managed to attract investors such as Jeff Bezos and Ashton Kutcher among others. Moreover, the company climbed to the second spot among all the start-ups in the United States.
