Airbnb not ready to go public as it focuses on growth

Airbnb has said it is remaining a privately held company for now as it focuses on growth and deals with legal and regulatory challenges.

Airbnb board member Jeff Jordan from venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz told Bloomberg, “The growth rate says it’s still early. You don’t just magically go public. There’s work to be done behind the scenes.”

Jordan said the home-renting technology company is not prepared to go public and next year was too optimistic.

The number of technology companies going public is on the wane, and speculation has mounted that start-ups such as Airbnb and instant messenger Snapchat will make their market debut soon.

Airbnb is valued at $30bn, more than the world’s largest hotel company Hilton Worldwide Holdings with $23.4bn.

On Wednesday, the San Francisco-based company threatened to sue the governor of New York Andrew Cuomo if the state passes a bill that would make it effectively illegal to advertise short-term rentals on its app.

Airbnb said the proposed bill was unconstitutional as it would prevent New York landlords and homeowners from renting out flats or houses for less than 30 days at a time.

The city is one of it the company's most lucrative areas and earns about $1bn per year.

In September, Airbnb said the ban on “vacation rental activity” in Santa Monica, California, was also unconstitutional.