Airbnb hosts see windfall in just few hours from wild listing-day gains

Airbnb hosts who were allowed to invest in the home-sharing firm’s $3.5 billion initial public offering (IPO) more than doubled their money in a few hours on Thursday, a windfall that otherwise would only have been reaped by Wall Street’s elite. While the vast majority of the newly issued shares went to big mutual funds and other institutional investors, Airbnb reserved $238 million worth of stock for its hosts, according to company filings.

These shares had a remarkable run after pricing at $68 in the IPO on Wednesday. They ended their first day of trading on Thursday up 112.8 per cent at $144.71. At 8.54 pm IST, the stock was trading at $147.67 on Nasdaq.  “It was a good move for Airbnb, as it made hosts feel appreciated for their involvement on the platform,” said Jenn Schreck, a film industry worker and Airbnb host in Atlanta.

It was not clear how many hosts participated in the IPO and snapped up some of the 3.5 million shares allocated to them, though one source familiar with the matter said the demand outstripped supply.

Many of the hosts welcomed the opportunity to buy into the IPO after the company refused to compensate them for canceled bookings during the Covid-19 pandemic. Airbnb is facing a class action lawsuit from hosts and hundreds of arbitration cases stemming from that decision.