Airbnb is reportedly in talks to raise funds that would value the online home and apartment marketplace at more than $10 billion, The Wall Street Journal reports
The round, which will likely be led by private-equity firm TPG, could total between $400 million and $500 million.
A $10 billion valuation for Airbnb would make it more valuable than large hotel operators like Wyndham Worldwide Corp, which is valued at $9.4 billion. It would also be more valuable than Hyatt Hotels Corp., which is valued at $8.4 billion.
That makes sense given that as of November 2013, Airbnb was already on track to become the world's largest hotelier. In December, the company listed more than 550,000 properties worldwide and announced that it had topped 10 million guest stays, with more than half occurring in 2013 alone.
This round comes at a time when the spotlight is on Airbnb thanks to people trashing hosts apartments with feces, and throwing sex parties.
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