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The interesting thing I read from reddit was that 30% of Airbnb’s cash flow last year came from an internal hedge fund holding currencies, equities, fixed incom
by acconrad 9y ago
The interesting thing I read from reddit was that 30% of Airbnb’s cash flow last year came from an internal hedge fund holding currencies, equities, fixed income. This hedge fund was set up by their ex-CFO, so it's an interesting model for generating income. They take money from guests immediately, but do not pay out to hosts until the guests check in, this delay can be up to many months in advance. This gives them time to invest those assets how they see fit.
The danger here is that 30% of their cash flow is the result of an incredible bull market, so what happens to Airbnb when we hit a recession?
- paganel 9y ago> so what happens to Airbnb when we hit a recession Probably the same thing that happened to GE Capital, which almost managed to capsize GE itself.
- golergka 9y agoI heard exactly the same thing about Groupon back in the day. It seems like a standard trick for any company that can hold on to customers' money.
- lamby 9y ago> what happens to Airbnb when we hit a recession Or the DOW dropping 1000 points..?
- nugget 9y agoIf they invest predominantly in very short-term fixed income than equities (which would be my guess) then they may actually perform even better as interest rates rise and the market cools.
- paulcole 9y agoI’m guessing you didn’t even read the article before commenting? The reason I ask is because that topic is mentioned in the article itself.