Airbnb gets $1B investment for coronavirus recovery

“While the current environment is clearly a difficult one for the hospitality industry, the desire to travel and have authentic experiences is fundamental and enduring,” said Silver Lake Managing Partner Egon Durban.

“Airbnb’s diverse, global, and resilient business model is particularly well suited to prosper as the world inevitably recovers and we all get back out to experience it.”

The fresh resources will enable the San Francisco-based company to invest in its community of “hosts” and local experiences along with stays in homes, according to Airbnb Co-founder and Chief Brian Chesky.

Airbnb said it would focus particularly on long-term stays, from students needing housing to remote workers, building on a rising demand the platform has seen as people self-isolate during the pandemic.
Terms of the investment include putting $5 million into a Superhost Relief Fund for established, highly-rated hosts who need help with rent or mortgage payments due to the coronavirus’s devastating effects.
Airbnb employees started the fund with a million dollars, and the two co-founders contributed another $9 million, according to the company.

Airbnb is also helping hosts with financial losses after guests cancelled travel plans.

It has set aside $250 million for hosts to help cover the cost of COVID-19 cancellations. The company will pay their hosts 25 percent of what they would have normally received through their cancellation policy. This applies retroactively to all COVID-19 related cancellations from March 14 to May 31.
(Disclaimer: Additional background information has been added to this PTI copy for context)