Why That Crazy-High AirBnB Valuation Is Fair

Why That Crazy-High AirBnB Valuation Is Fair by CB Insights

AirBnB is poised to become more valuable than Marriott, Starwood, and Expedia. At first glance, the valuation looks rich, but the data suggests it might be right.

AirBnB is reportedly raising a $1B round at a $24B valuation, a jump of 140% over its last reported 2014 valuation. If the deal is successful, it would make AirBnB the third-most valuable unicorn company in the world after Xiaomi and Uber. We believe some unicorns are not appropriately valued (Dropbox being a case in point). So we compared AirBnB’s valuation numbers against those posted by several related or comparable public-market companies. Specifically, we looked at Marriott,...