Airbnb executives were said to clash over when to go public

The Airbnb Inc. logo and application are displayed on an Apple Inc. iPhone and iPad in this arranged photograph in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Friday, March 21, 2014. Airbnb Inc. is raising money from investors including TPG Capital in a financing round that would value the room-sharing service at more than $10 billion, said people with knowledge of the deal. Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg

Early last week, the top executives of Airbnb Inc gathered in San Francisco for annual planning meetings. They were brimming with confidence. 

The home-rental company had exceeded financial projections for 2017, with US$93mil (RM363.39mil) in profit on US$2.6bil (RM10.15bil) in revenue, said people with knowledge of the matter. Airbnb was ready, by some employees’ estimations, to begin the process to go public.