The homestay company will go the direct route, sources told Bloomberg, with existing investors and employees selling their shares rather than the company issuing new shares to sell to the public. Meanwhile, venture capitalists from firms like Benchmark and Sequoia Capital are speaking at a Silicon Valley summit Tuesday examining the issues with the IPO system. Other presenters include executives from direct listers Spotify and Slack; Stitch Fix and Zillow, which IPOed; and representatives from brokerage firms. (Bloomberg)

Talking point: VC critics say bankers have mispriced startups’ shares at IPO, allowing first-day buyers to make profits on the stocks’ “pop”—money which would otherwise have gone to the company. Recent tech listings have also struggled to maintain that early momentum. For example, on its first day of trading in March, Lyft stock rose as high as US$88.50 from its US$72 listing price; on Monday it closed at US$40.84. Major shareholders are typically prevented from selling their shares for a few months after an IPO, which hurts them if the stock drops—Lyft ended its lockup period 36 days early, with the price at US$51.60. While companies save money on brokerage fees when they list directly, and insiders can sell shares immediately, defenders of the IPO point out that direct listings don’t raise new capital, so only work for firms that are already profitable or have money in the bank. Airbnb has not disclosed whether it’s losing money, but it has not raised a large investment round since March 2017. That suggests a strong balance sheet.