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Airbnb appoints Bunch as global head of operations
Reading Time: 2 minutesUS: Airbnb has announced the appointment of Tara Bunch as its new global head of operations, a role which has been left vacant since previous COO Belinda Johnson stepped down to join the company’s board in March. In her new role, Bunch will oversee Airbnb’s customer service, trust and safety and payments teams, and will […]
Airbnb to trim workforce by 25 per cent
Reading Time: 3 minutesUS: Airbnb is laying off 1,900 team members – or 25 per cent of its global workforce – and slashing its investment in hotels and its luxury business ventures in a move to help the travel behemoth survive the coronavirus crisis. In addition, it will put a “pause” for the time being at least on […]
Chesky: Airbnb to improve host relations by facilitating “human connections”
Reading Time: 2 minutesUS: In an interview with Skift CEO and founder, Rafat Ali, Airbnb co-founder and CEO, Brian Chesky, has outlined how he intends to forge better relations with its hosts to become a facilitator of “human connections”, as well as how the platform will incorporate more extended stays in the future post-pandemic. Speaking on The Long […]
Airbnb secures further $1 billion loan
Reading Time: 2 minutesUS: Just one week after raising $1 billion in funding from the likes of Silver Lake and Sixth Street Partners, Airbnb has secured a further $1 billion loan in senior debt, reportedly through the same private equity firms, as well as Apollo Global Management, Oaktree Capital Management and Owl Rock. The emergency finance injection, coming […]
Airbnb disables instant book functions to halt lockdown retreats
Reading Time: 2 minutesUK: Airbnb has switched off its ‘instant book’ function and blocked all private room bookings for the foreseeable future in the UK in response to a national report which revealed short-term rental hosts were using the platform to offer Covid-19 ‘retreats’ despite the nationwide lockdown currently in place. A report published by the BBC highlighted […]
Airbnb receives $1bn funding injection to fend off Covid-19 fallout
Reading Time: 3 minutesUS: Airbnb is to receive $1 billion [£816 million] in investment from California-based Silver Lake and San Francisco’s Sixth Street Partners to help the embattled company deal with the fallout from Covid-19. The substantial financial injection, made up of debt and equity securities is in line with CEO and co-founder Brian Chesky’s announcements last […]
Reaction to Brian Chesky announcements: what may the future hold for Airbnb?
Reading Time: 5 minutesUS: In response to the ire of hosts and guests alike since it first started implementing its Covid-19 support measures, Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky recorded an impromptu video call last week, which generated a mixed response from the global short-term rental community. In the call, Chesky apologised to its host community and suppliers for abruptly cancelling […]
Airbnb lowers internal valuation to $26bn amid drop in bookings
Reading Time: 2 minutesUS: Airbnb has reportedly lowered its internal valuation by 16 per cent to $26 billion as a result of the global lockdowns and restrictions on mobility caused by Covid-19, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. At the time of its last funding round in September 2017, when it raised $1 billion, Airbnb had a […]
Airbnb to set up $250 million host support fund
Reading Time: 2 minutesUS: After fielding criticism that its refund policy leaves hosts to burden too much of the cost, Airbnb is providing $250 million to support hosts. The company hopes to offset losses caused by coronavirus cancellations to their host community across the globe. The payment applies to those suffering from cancellations made between 14-31 March, the […]
Airbnb plans to pause hirings and marketing to save $800m a year
Reading Time: 2 minutesUS: Airbnb is preparing to pause its entire marketing expenditure for the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic, in a move that would reportedly share the home-sharing platform a sum of $800 million a year. As the company’s losses continue to soar, Airbnb is having to find alternative ways to plug the financial gaps at a […]