Airbnb went public on Thursday, but apparently not everyone that does business with the company was aware of the major stock market news.
It was one of 2020’s worst-kept secrets, as Airbnb had been rumored to reach IPO status for quite some time. The major news created opportunities for hosts, as many of them were given the opportunity to possibly collect thousands of dollars.
The problem, however, was that many of them didn’t pay attention to the email, which they deemed to be possible spam.
Austin host Tom Krones, for example, received an email from the company on Nov. 16, but he paid no attention to it. It was an opportunity to buy into the company, with the subject line properly titled “Airbnb’s Directed Share Program.” Krones ignored it, and he’s kicking himself now.
“You know I should probably buy a couple shares just for fun,” Krones told NPR. “But part of me was just like, ‘aw, I’ll do it later.'”
Others bought and sold stock for thousands of dollars, and kudos to them for being proactive.
