Airbnb, reeling from the coronavirus’ spread, has projected that its revenue will plunge some 54% this year, people familiar with the matter said.
In a scenario the company has shown investors, Airbnb’s revenue would fall to about $2.2 billion this year, from $4.8 billion in 2019. The scenario is preliminary, as no one knows how long the virus could linger over the travel industry. But the steep decline underlines why Airbnb felt it needed to raise $1 billion in debt this week from two private equity firms, at a lofty 11% interest rate, as it seeks to avoid making deeper spending cuts.
