If Ennismore has a successful IPO, it could reshape how investors value hotel brands. Analysts may give value not just to room revenue and expanding footprints, but also to ancillary sales, guest engagement, and brand equity.
Accor has had at least 3 big re-orgs in a decade. Now it's fine-tuning strategy. Selling stakes in Ennismore and Orient Express could free up resources to more effectively battle the Marriotts of the world.
What are the prospects of Airbnb becoming a full-service online travel agency with the ability to go head-to-head with Booking.com. We know from the S-1 statement that Airbnb isn't profitable and you can walk away from reading the massive document without great insight into so many potential growth initiatives.
An Airbnb pre-IPO stock split gives the company's potential public debut more momentum because its share price in theory would be lower. Of course, none of Airbnb's IPO paperwork is public yet so the particulars of the IPO are just guesswork for now.
Airbnb has always put itself out there as not just another startup or your grandmother's online travel agency. Going the direct listing route, as opposed to a far costlier initial public offering, could fit in nicely with that narrative.