Airbnb CEO Says Company Will Ready for IPO in 2019
Photo Credit: Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky spoke at the Recode Code Conference. Asa Mathat for Vox Media
Skift Take
Just as important as what was discussed on stage was what wasn't: an update on Airbnb Plus, the upcoming luxury brand, the new superguest loyalty program, the near-merger with Tujia, and more. Oh, and whatever happened to that stakeholder report Chesky promised to release in March?
Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky has traditionally played coy when it comes to specifying exactly when his company, valued at an estimated $31 billion, would eventually go public, but on Wednesday he issued a more definitive timeline for an inevitable IPO.
"We will be ready to IPO next year, but I don't know if we will," Chesky said, speaking on stage at Recode's Code Conference in Rancho Palos Verdes, California.
He added that he and his company don't feel pressured to rush to an IPO: "We have investors who are really patient and I want to make sure it's a benefit [to them] when we do."
Airbnb's road to an IPO hasn't been without its share of drama: In February, the company's chief financial officer, Laurence Tosi, left the company unexpectedly.
The company is still searching for a new CFO, as well as a replacement for chief marketing officer Jonathan Mildenhall, who left Airbnb in October, 2017, to start his own company as well.
Numerous reports that followed speculated that To
