Why Airbnb’s incredibly successful IPO was a maverick move

In early 2020, Airbnb’s management announced that to address the slowing growth in sales, it wanted to scale back ancillary activities and focus on the company’s core strength of mid-range and budget short-term rentals. This was just before COVID-19 stopped the travel and leisure industry in its tracks. Against such a bleak backdrop, it was a surprise when the company’s CEO Brian Chesky announced that the online holiday rental company would go public in December 2020 – and it did just that on December 10. Shares were originally priced from US$45-US$50 (£34-£38) per share. This went up to US$55-US$60 the…

This story continues at The Next Web