Airbnb raises $1 billion in debt financing to create new travel services

Airbnb just raised $1 billion in debt financing from a group of major U.S. banks including JPMorgan Chase & Co., Citigroup Inc., and Bank of America Corp., Bloomberg first reported.

The funding will be used to help Airbnb expand and develop new services. Airbnb is currently valued at $25.5 billion after a $1.5 billion funding round a year ago.

The company is currently working to become a more full-service travel company, creating add-on travel services in hopes to grow beyond home-sharing, Bloomberg reported last March.

Airbnb has tested out services like art gallery tours, personal chefs and bicycle rentals, which customers can book when they rent a home or reserve a room on Airbnb, according to Bloomberg. Those options will likely be rolled out this year.

So far, Airbnb doesn’t offer any other add-on travel services, but does provide Guidebooks, which are guides to select cities created by Airbnb hosts.

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