Online vacation rental home service Airbnb is seeking a new round of investments that would value the company at $30 billion, making it the second-highest valued U.S. startup, according to The New York Times.
The Times spoke with “people briefed on the matter” under the condition of anonymity who told them that the San Francisco-based room sharing service, which charges a processing fee to book one of the more than 1,500,000 vacation home listings it offers on its online marketplace, is being largely fueled by its expansion into new and emerging markets.
Business has increased 700 percent in the past two years thanks to Chinese travelers who use the service alone, according to The Times, while Airbnb launched in Cuba for the first time last year. All this growth has led Airbnb to triple in valuation in just two years.
Airbnb is also experimenting with other ways of making money, such as letting customers add items like museum tickets and restaurant reservations onto their trip.
Bloomberg reported this month that Airbnb also secured a $1 billion debt facility this month as well.
At a $30 billion valuation, Airbnb would be the second most valued U.S.-based startup company behind only Uber, which CB Insights values at $62.5 billion.
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