Airbnb Makes its Huge Debut on Wall Street

Despite coronavirus ruining a lot of travel this year, Airbnb still made a very big splash this week as it debuted on Wall Street.

The home-sharing company soared on Thursday after a highly anticipated wait for its IPO.
Founded in 2008 as Airbed & Breakfast, Airbnb has revolutionized the hotel sector by allowing people to rent out rooms or their homes to strangers. The company now offers full apartments, homes, and hotel rooms for rent as well as travel experiences.

The company, which trades under the ticker symbol ABNB, saw its shares start trading at $146. This is more than double from its IPO price and valued the company at over $100 billion.

Prior to trading, the company had a valuation of $31 billion back in a 2017 financing round. Now at its current valuation, the stock is worth more than Marriot and Hilton together.

In an interview with CNN’s Poppy Harlow on Thursday, Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky said he “could have never imagined” the course of the rollercoaster year that his company has experienced.
According to Chesky, there are “two explanations” for the company’s stronger position today: one is that “people still do yearn to travel,” and the other explanation comes from his father.

“I’m also reminded of something that my dad used to tell me growing up — and I had to tell myself this a lot during the depths of our dark days. He said that things are never quite as good as they seem and as bad as they seem. You kind of have to remind yourself of that to find the midpoint between these highs and lows,” said Chesky.

With vaccines hopefully rolling out soon, Airbnb could see a benefit from people traveling more next year.

Back in May the company cut 25% of its workforce, or 1,900 employees. Chesky told CNN that the company “would absolutely welcome people back” if it is in a position to do so. He said however, “I want to see how the storm continues to play out.”

Disclaimer: We have no position in any of the companies mentioned and have not been compensated for this article.