Earlier this month，An article published by Skift comprehensively analyzes Airbnb’s road to listing。Although the content mainly focuses on explaining what the company needs to do and is doing to prepare for listing，But it did not mention why a company like Airbnb should go public and what it can bring to the company。

In fact，Airbnb is working hard to become a "super brand" in the tourism industry，Or it is moving closer to a new online travel agency (OTA)。In addition to its powerful accommodation sharing business with more than 4 million online listings，In November last year, the company further launched tourism business including tour projects and activities。Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky once hinted，The company may expand further into aviation。

Today，Airbnb is preparing for IPO，Then，What is the true value of Airbnb？In addition to the staggering $31 billion valuation，Its value is not just about how many houses it has or how many tourist activities it has，The most valuable thing in its 9 years of development is actually its brand。Going public helps Airbnb solve the regulatory issues it currently faces、Maintenance of relationship between platform and landlord、New business expansion and other aspects will bring more urgent requirements。

Airbnb faces a series of challenges that its peers cannot avoid when expanding their international business，After listing，188bet online sports betting The mystery of Airbnb will be completely revealed，Secrets at a glance，Is it ready？

Let’s take a look at what are the highlights of Airbnb’s road to listing: 

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Rented.com noted，Airbnb’s “cash flow reserves” estimated at $3 billion，This allows Airbnb to have no financial pressure。In fact，Airbnb has been involved in few major acquisitions in the past five years，This means it has more chips in its pocket to cope with future changes in the company，Spend or invest。

McConnell said: "It's more than that，If Airbnb is successfully listed，Then it is necessary to disclose more information to the public，And the more information they have to disclose publicly，Then the more things and projects they may not want to do。As a private company，They can do more under existing regulations，Diversify their business more authentically and in more discreet ways，And once they go public，These veils begin to be lifted。”

In a sense，If Airbnb is successfully listed，It will become the first listed company in the industry based on the sharing economy，will enjoy more market dividends，Past 9 years，Airbnb absorbs huge financing，A few years have passed，Its investors will have greater incentive to push Airbnb to complete its IPO。 

2.The discussion of regulating Airbnb isn’t going away anytime soon

This discussion about whether to regulate the Airbnb sharing model，Airbnb either wins outright，Or you have to obey。

Some criticism of Airbnb’s public policy strategies，Airbnb often has too few ways to work with cities，Too late，And no matter how it goes，In general, it is in a defensive rather than active offensive situation。

Others hold the opposite opinion，For example, Eric Goldman, professor at Santa Clara University School of Law，And some experts who deal with legal issues related to websites believe that，Airbnb will eventually win this war。

“All the regulatory pressure on Airbnb isn’t necessarily bad news for them，"Goldman 188bet sports betting app download said，“They can see their competitors better，Then cut off these competitors’ path of attack。Although for Airbnb，Being a thorn in the side of regulators does put them in a difficult position，But they still have a chance to win in a dangerous situation。I think Airbnb is setting itself up to be a successful model for the future，Every time a new marketing campaign is launched in a city，They all put further distance between themselves and their competitors，Make it difficult for them to catch up。” 

What remains to be observed in the future，Airbnb in Chicago、Can New Orleans and San Francisco’s model for dealing with regulation allay regulators’ concerns，At the same time, it can also maintain the company's profit growth。 

Another thing to watch closely is the progress of property management company Aimco’s lawsuit against Airbnb。Aimco thinks，Airbnb as a short-term rental brokerage，Directly involved in business transactions between guests and hosts，Thus not exempt from liability under federal communications regulations。This law also applies to websites like eBay and Craigslist being responsible for the content promoted on their platforms。

If Aimco’s lawsuit is successful，Then the impact on how Airbnb continues to do business in the future could be huge。Goldman says: “Will owners have to exit the Airbnb platform?”？Or does Airbnb have to pre-screen to verify whether the property can be sublet？If Airbnb can continue its current model，Then just remove the accommodation listings that have been complained about，There will be a lot less worries this way。And if they have to do extra work to make sure it's not an illegal sublet，This could be a big problem for Airbnb。

3.Airbnb believes that instant booking is a win-win model，This makes it easier for companies to combat rental discrimination and make profits 

Airbnb just recently released the latest data about its product。As of August 10th，The company has a total of approximately 4 million listings，1.9 188bet online sports betting million of them allow instant booking。

Airbnb’s instant booking function can directly and effectively solve the problem of rental discrimination，It does not allow hosts to deny guest accommodation requests，Unless under very special circumstances or for clear specific reasons。There is another benefit，It can also help companies attract and grow vacation rental business。

4.Double-edged sword: Instant booking has also become an inflection point between Airbnb and hosts

Although some hosts have publicly expressed their willingness to join instant booking，I also earned a lot of benefits from it，Included and will appear first when customers search，Because instant booking listings are the default search setting on the Airbnb website，But there are still other landlords who are dissatisfied。

In addition，Many hosts believe that Airbnb provides insufficient support and services to hosts，They are upset about this。Hosts feel Airbnb isn’t trying to address their concerns，And give them adequate support in this regulatory war。

One landlord told Skift: “I didn’t feel like they were helping us out at all。We created business for them，Know that without us，Where did their business start?。” 

5.Airbnb may invest heavily in the following accommodation businesses: luxury accommodation，Traditional vacation home rentals and business travel accommodation

As home sharing accommodation gradually becomes mainstream，Airbnb needs to ensure it has enough market supply to meet demand，At the same time, we must maintain the company’s competitive advantage。But it can be tricky to attract luxury accommodations and traditional vacation home rentals。

Rented.com CEO McConnell said: "It's like a dual personality spin-off。For vacation rentals，You must accept that this is not a shared space，The guest rented the entire house。These vacation rental owners may not have thought of providing a personalized one，Shared accommodation experience with tenants。”

In other words，The owners of these vacation homes stand in stark contrast to the middle-class families and hosts Airbnb often portrays in its advertising。Also，When it comes to choosing which platforms to use to promote their vacation rental，For these landlords, brand awareness is not the decisive factor in choosing which short-term rental booking platform。

6.There are signs，Although Airbnb’s travel business is gradually expanding，But it’s not the most profitable part yet

Airbnb co-founder and CEO Brian Chesky has been involved in destination tourism projects and events for some time，But there are multiple sources saying，The launch of destination tourism products has been a point of contention between Chesky and other Airbnb executives。Some of them believe that the risk of entering the destination tourism activity market would be too high，And it’s not clear whether it can make money。Travel and activity experts also warn，This industry is particularly challenging for anyone。

7.What is the purpose of Airbnb investing $13 million in the dining app Resy？

What will be the next steps after Airbnb invests in Resy，It may be Priceline OpenTable’s biggest competitor。How Airbnb will integrate Resy’s technology into its own platform to expand its destination products and travel planning capabilities，Let’s wait and see。

8.Airbnb’s most valuable asset is its brand

When you think about the true value of Airbnb，In addition to the staggering $31 billion valuation，Its value is not just about how many houses it has or how many tourist activities it has，The most valuable thing in its 9 years of development is actually its brand。 

Of course，If Airbnb joins the luxury property and professionally managed apartment business in the future, it will inevitably be different from the current model。But no matter what the future model is or it will eventually be launched，Airbnb needs to continue to maintain and consolidate its brand value。

*This article was compiled from Skift by Xu Liyang, an analyst at Zhihui。