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Airbnb is getting ready for the imminent launch of its initial public offering (IPO). The company has hired former Amazon executive, Dave Stephenson, to be its chief financial officer (CFO).
How Airbnb changed the hospitality industry forever
Airbnb was founded by Joe Gebbia and Brian Chesky in 2007. They decided to turn their apartment in the US city of San Francisco into a personal bed and breakfast for tourists to make extra money. The company grew through word-of-mouth- and by catering to guests that want an alternative to crowded hotel rooms. The small business has since grown to have 640,000 hosts opening their homes and 150 million people using the corporation’s services.
Airbnb profits and unicorn IPO
The homerenting business released its third quarter (Q3) earnings report and revealed the most successful quarter in the company’s history.
‘The third quarter of 2018 was the strongest quarter in Airbnb history, and the first quarter in which Airbnb recognised substantially more than $1 billion in revenue. To date, there have been more than 400 million guest arrivals in Airbnb listings around the world. Investing in our community, our strong brand and our global presence are powering significant growth. For example, the number of guest arrivals in the third quarter increased by 91% in Beijing, 79% in Mexico City, 70% in Birmingham, England, and 67% in Johannesburg, South Africa,’ reported the company.
Because of the corporation's success, the company has been valued at $33 billion. That high evaluation makes it a ‘unicorn’ company, a rare business worth more than $1 billion.
Airbnb looks to 2019
Stephenson is expected to bring his 17 years of experience with Amazon to the business before it goes public. He was responsible for Amazon’s global sales of Amazon Prime and Whole Foods. Airbnb had been without a CFO since February. Airbnb chief executive officer (CEO), Brian Chesky, spoke glowingly about Stephenson. ‘Dave is one of the best financial operators in the world and there’s no one better prepared to serve as our CFO. I’m proud of everything we’ve achieved, but Airbnb is just getting started,’ said Chesky.
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