Airbnb Inc on Friday said it took in more than US$1 billion in revenue in the past three months, calling it the best quarter ever for the home-sharing giant as it readies a stock market offering.
“The third quarter of 2018 was the strongest quarter in Airbnb history, and the first quarter in which Airbnb recognized substantially more than US$1 billion in revenue,” the company said in a memo.
The revelation came as Airbnb prepared for an initial public offering (IPO) as soon as the middle of next year at a valuation estimated to be more than US$30 billion.
As a private firm, Airbnb does not need to disclose its performance and the memo offered no detailed financial information, although the service is believed to be on course to be profitable for a second year.
More than 400 million guest “arrivals” have been logged at Airbnb lodgings since the service launched a decade ago, the company said.
The number of Airbnb guests in the third quarter soared in Beijing, Mexico City, Johannesburg, and Birmingham, England, it said.
Airbnb expected that nearly 1 million guests would stay in US lodgings booked through its service during the Thanksgiving holiday weekend later this week.
Airbnb has become a target for regulators who contend the service skirts taxes and hotel regulations, while increasing pressure on housing by enticing property owners to make homes available to visitors rather than residents.
The main trade group for French hotels has sued the home-sharing giant, accusing it of unfair competition by “knowingly violating” rules imposed as part of a crackdown in one of Airbnb’s biggest markets.
Paris has led the charge in France against Airbnb and other platforms, claiming that they have driven up home prices while depriving municipalities of taxes on income, which often goes undeclared.
The moves echo actions taken in other tourist hotspots such as Amsterdam, Barcelona, Berlin and New York.
PROTECTIONISM: China hopes to help domestic chipmakers gain more market share while preparing local tech companies for the possibility of more US sanctions Beijing is stepping up pressure on Chinese companies to buy locally produced artificial intelligence (AI) chips instead of Nvidia Corp products, part of the nation’s effort to expand its semiconductor industry and counter US sanctions. Chinese regulators have been discouraging companies from purchasing Nvidia’s H20 chips, which are used to develop and run AI models, sources familiar with the matter said. The policy has taken the form of guidance rather than an outright ban, as Beijing wants to avoid handicapping its own AI start-ups and escalating tensions with the US, said the sources, who asked not to be identified because the
Taipei is today suspending its US$2.5 trillion stock market as Super Typhoon Krathon approaches Taiwan with strong winds and heavy rain. The nation is not conducting securities, currency or fixed-income trading, statements from its stock and currency exchanges said. Yesterday, schools and offices were closed in several cities and counties in southern and eastern Taiwan, including in the key industrial port city of Kaohsiung. Taiwan, which started canceling flights, ship sailings and some train services earlier this week, has wind and rain advisories in place for much of the island. It regularly experiences typhoons, and in July shut offices and schools as
FALLING BEHIND: Samsung shares have declined more than 20 percent this year, as the world’s largest chipmaker struggles in key markets and plays catch-up to rival SK Hynix Samsung Electronics Co is laying off workers in Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand as part of a plan to reduce its global headcount by thousands of jobs, sources familiar with the situation said. The layoffs could affect about 10 percent of its workforces in those markets, although the numbers for each subsidiary might vary, said one of the sources, who asked not to be named because the matter is private. Job cuts are planned for other overseas subsidiaries and could reach 10 percent in certain markets, the source said. The South Korean company has about 147,000 in staff overseas, more than half
Her white-gloved, waistcoated uniform impeccable, 22-year-old Hazuki Okuno boards a bullet train replica to rehearse the strict protocols behind the smooth operation of a Japanese institution turning 60 Tuesday. High-speed Shinkansen trains began running between Tokyo and Osaka on Oct. 1, 1964, heralding a new era for rail travel as Japan grew into an economic superpower after World War II. The service remains integral to the nation’s economy and way of life — so keeping it dazzlingly clean, punctual and accident-free is a serious job. At a 10-story, state-of-the-art staff training center, Okuno shouted from the window and signaled to imaginary colleagues, keeping
RSS