Stake is giving Australians free shares in Airbnb as it goes public

Many of us have stayed in an Airbnb, or perhaps have one. As a guest or host, now could be an unexpected opportunity to cash in.

Many of us have stayed in an Airbnb somewhere in the world and some of us might even operate one.

The company, which started with three friends renting air mattresses in their apartment to strangers for extra cash, has turned into a $30 billion global travel powerhouse.

The company has grown so much that it is now going public on the US stock exchange this Thursday, December 8, 2020.

As part of the new public listing, Australian-based online trading platform Stake is offering Australians the chance to get a share in the Airbnb action.

Anyone who has used Airbnbas a host or guest who registers with Stake will receive a free share in the company after it goes public on Thursday.

To get the share, you need to sign up to Stake using ‘Airbnb’ as a referral code and put a minimum of $50 into a share account.

You also need to show you’ve stayed at, or own, an Airbnb with a receipt or screenshot.

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The Airbnb IPO is listed on Wall Street’s New York Stock Exchange as ABNB. Picture: Angela Weiss /AFP

The offer celebrates Airbnb being publicly listed as an IPO – an initial public offering – on Wall Street’s New York Stock Exchange as ABNB.

An IPO is when a private company goes public on the stock market and offers shares in the new stock to the public.

Airbnb is tipped to be worth $US30 billion ($A40.5 billion), with analysts estimating a debut price of approximately $US45-50 ($A60–67) per share.

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Airbnb is tipped to be worth $US30 billion ($A40.5 billion), according to stock market analysts. Picture: Lionel Bonaventure/AFP

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“Airbnb has completely reshaped the way the world travels and thinks about holiday accommodation. Stake gives people outside the US direct access to the game-changing companies listed there,” Stake’s head of content and community James Healey said.

“So we think this is the perfect way to celebrate this hotly anticipated IPO.”

Over the past two years, Stake has made several billion-dollar companies available to Australians on the platform as they launch publicly.

Online brokerage Stake has given Australians access to several billion-dollar companies as they launch as IPOs. Picture: Johannes Eisele/AFP

“While there are some amazing opportunities on the local stock market, Wall Street is home to the companies that are defining our future. We believe it should be simple to access these opportunities regardless of where you live; and Australians seem to agree.

“From Slack to Uber, huge amounts of Stake traders have jumped on these opportunities in real time at IPO,” Stake co-founder and CEO Matt Leibowitz said.

Airbnb will be available to trade on Thursday, December 10 on Stake, US Eastern Time.