Airbnb CEO Says Its IPO Is ‘Halfway’ Ready

Airbnb co-founder, CEO, and newly minted head of community Brian Chesky has embarked on a world tour of seven different cities and midway into his journey, he's been dropping quite a few hints into the future of his company, which is now theoretically worth almost as much as the world's largest hotel company. On March 10, Chesky spoke in front of university students at the Oxford Union in Oxford, England, and on March 13, Chesky stopped by the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) to be interviewed on stage by The Airbnb Story author and Fortune assistant managing editor Leigh Gallagher as part of a New York Economic Club lunch meeting. During both appearances, Chesky spoke about what it was like to launch a now $31-billion company, as well as discussed the possibility of a future initial public offering (IPO) and what Airbnb Flights might look like. To IPO or Not to IPO? Airbnb's latest round of funding seemed to quell rumors that the company was nearing an IPO, but during his NYSE d