- Airbnb has been hammered by the Covid-19 pandemic, but it is betting on a long-term recovery in the travel market
- Meanwhile, DoorDash is hoping that consumers will still want their food delivered when life returns to ‘normal’
The Covid-19 pandemic has decimated the global travel industry – package tour operators such as Tui (TUI) have swung to heavy losses and hotel owners, including InterContinental Hotels (IHG), have seen occupancy rates plunge. Against that backdrop, it might seem an odd time for home rental platform Airbnb (US:ABNB) to make its market debut. Yet the company has gambled on two things – that international travel will eventually recover and that investors are feeling optimistic about the industry’s prospects as a vaccine is rolled out.
Investors seem willing to take that punt. Airbnb’s shares more than doubled in value from their $68 IPO price during the first day of trading, translating to a market capitalisation of over $86bn (£63.2bn) – that is bigger than the Marriott (US:MAR), Hilton (US:HLT) and InterContinental Hotels combined. It is quite a feat given that Airbnb started out life in 2007 as an air mattress to rent in the founders’ apartment.