UNITED STATES (REUTERS) - Apartment-sharing start-up Airbnb has secured a US$1 billion (S$1.35 billion) debt facility from some big US banks to aid its new services and finance its expansion plans, a source close to the company said.

JPMorgan, Citigroup, Morgan Stanley and Bank of America led the debt deal, the source said.

Airbnb, which expects to achieve profitability in 2016, raised over $100 million in a round of funding late last year.

Bloomberg reported the funding deal earlier on Wednesday (June 15).

Citigroup and Bank of America declined to comment. Representatives at JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley were not immediately available for comment outside regular US business hours.

Priceline, Expedia and other travel companies have been facing increased pressure in their hotel bookings business from the rise of start-ups such as Airbnb.