Airbnb snagged a $1B debt facility from big US banks—led by JPMorgan, Citigroup, Morgan Stanley and Bank of America—to finance its expansion plans and new services.
The home-sharing behemoth raised over $100M in a funding round late last year, and it expects to achieve profitability in 2016.
Airbnb (CEO Brian Chesky, pictured) hit 1 million rooms listed last year—more than Hilton—and has been spreading its business around the world, including a heavy investment in a Cuban expansion, Reuters reports.
All of that growth hasn’t come without pushback, as the startup has been in prolonged legislative battles from coast to coast—and even across the pond.
Airbnb almost made a foray into another political battle in April, when it entered talks to partner with unions on the “Fight for $15” campaign—which would’ve given it some more political weight to throw around. However, the plan fell through before it could get off the ground. [Reuters]
