2020 has not gone according to plan for Airbnb. The tech company came into the year preparing for a highly anticipated IPO, but then the coronavirus pandemic changed everything.
As the pandemic devastated the global travel industry, Airbnb laid off nearly 25% of its employees, raised emergency debt funding and at least temporarily shelved the IPO.
But there is one bright spot. While urban Airbnb hosts have suffered heavily along with traditional hotels and travel companies, Airbnb hosts in rural areas are seeing huge surges in business.