The private equity firm that snapped up Zoopla Property Group two years ago has revealed that it’s one of two companies investing $1bn in Airbnb. Silver Lake paid £2.2bn for Zoopla in 2018 and has also invested in high-profile tech companies like Tesla and Skype. Now, along with investment business Sixth Street Partners, Silver Lake is pumping a combined $1b into Airbnb. 

Airbnb chief executive Brian Chesky said of the coronavirus: “We’ll see a new flexibility in how people live and work, which means they won’t have to be tethered to one location. And with an emerging interest in travel that’s closer to home, our customers will look to nearby places to visit, and for local experiences to take part in.”

Chesky said that Airbnb will in future focus on longer-term stays. “From students needing housing during school, to people on extended work assignments, Airbnb is a place where many have found longer-term housing. In the future, dreams of living in another community will become a growing reality - in homes that come with the benefits of Airbnb.”

Silver Lake co-chief executive Egon Durban added: “Airbnb’s revolutionary platform has transformed how people travel. (Its) resilient business model is particularly well-suited to prosper as the world inevitably recovers and we all get back out to experience it.”