Airbnb Expects to Go Public in 2020

Airbnb, a private rental company, has announced that it plans to go public in 2020, DPA and Reuters reported. From now on, analysts predict that this will be one of the most anticipated listings in the coming year.

In a brief communique, Airbnb announced that it "expects to become a publicly traded company in 2020".

Since its founding in 2008, the San Francisco-based company has launched itself from a small home-sharing platform to a tourist mastodon that has hurt the hotel industry. Airbnb offers about 7 million homes on its site and an average of over 2 million people use the service 24 hours a day, according to the company, BTA reported.

Airbnb has often been criticized for pushing up rents in urban centers and thus contributing to affordable housing crises.