HOSPITALITY TRENDS
Kelly ETFs | January 17, 2022
Kelly ETFs, a new exchange-traded fund (ETF) issuer that seeks to bring forward-looking and disruptive investment products to market, officially launches.
The firm’s first round of innovative ETFs also began trading, including:
The Kelly CRISPR & Gene Editing Technology ETF (Nasdaq: XDNA). XDNA is designed to capitalize on the next generation of healthcare by investing in companies disrupting the genomic and life science industries. The fund seeks to track the Strategic CRISPR & Gene Editing Technology Index, which measures the performance of developed market companies that specialize in DNA modification systems and technologies. The subsectors of this fund include CRISPR & Gene Editing Technology, Gene Editing Development Solutions and Gene Editing Sequencing Solutions.
The Kelly Hotel & Lodging Sector ETF (NYSE Arca: HOTL). The lodging ecosystem includes many specialized players, and by seeking to track the Strategic Hotel & Lodging Sector Index, HOTL offers exposure to companies focused on hotel and lodging management and operations, lodging platform services, timeshare properties and real estate throughout the developed world. The hotel and lodging sector acts as an effective economic barometer as it uniquely captures both leisure and business spending across various income levels.
The Kelly Residential & Apartment Real Estate ETF (NYSE Arca: RESI). RESI aims to track the Strategic Residential & Apartment Real Estate Sector Index, which targets the entire residential and multifamily real estate industry by giving investors access to companies specializing in single-family residential homes, apartment buildings, student housing and manufactured homes.
“At Kelly ETFs, we believe investors deserve access to strategies handcrafted with a deep and nuanced understanding of the forces driving the trends and transformations happening every day,We are particularly excited about the promising innovation occurring in CRISPR and gene editing technology. Scientific understanding of DNA is significantly more advanced today than even a few years ago and we’re thrilled to be in on the ground floor.”
-Kevin Kelly, Founder and CEO of Kelly ETFs.
Kevin Kelly is an established ETF expert with nearly two decades of financial industry experience. He also serves as the CEO of Kelly Benchmark Indexes, the index provider and sponsor of the SRVR and INDS ETFs.
In regard to residential real estate, historically low housing supply comes at a time when household growth – the primary driver of housing demand – is strong and accelerating,” noted Krista Kelly, who will oversee the firm’s operations and distribution. “Meanwhile, the hotel and lodging sector is seeing favorable market conditions as business spending is set to increase over the next several years.
Kelly Intelligence is the adviser and index provider for these funds. To learn more about Kelly ETFs and its product suite, please visit KellyETFs.com.
About Kelly ETFs
Kelly ETFs strives to create disruptive exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that offer investors the opportunity to capture highly liquid, pure-play exposure to the best-in-class companies identified in each emerging theme or sector, regardless of geographical location. Based in Denver, the team is committed to building investment products with exposure to the world’s most transformative companies and industries. For more information, visit KellyETFs.com.Residential and Apartment Real Estate Companies Investing Risk. Real estate is highly sensitive to general and local economic conditions and developments. The U.S. real estate market may, in the future, experience and has, in the past, experienced a decline in value, with certain regions experiencing significant losses in property values. Many real estate companies, including REITs, utilize leverage (and some may be highly leveraged), which increases investment risk and the risk normally associated with debt financing, and could potentially increase the Fund’s volatility and losses.Hotel and Lodging Industry Risk Companies in the hotels, resorts sub-industry may be affected by unique supply and demand factors that do not apply to other sub-industries. Weak economic conditions in some parts of the world, changes in oil prices and currency values, political instability in some areas, and the uncertainty over how long any of these conditions could continue may have a negative impact on the lodging industry.
DNA Modification Technology Company Risk. DNA modification technology companies face intense competition, and products and services with a potentially short product life. These companies will generally require large amounts of capital expenditures on research and development, with no guarantee that the product or service would be successful. They may be heavily dependent on intellectual property rights. The laws related to these rights can vary and there is no guarantee that a company will be able to successfully protect their intellectual property rights. These companies, like other health care companies, are subject to various government and regulatory oversight that could hamper or impede their operations.
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FEATURES AND ADVICE
Dragonchain My travelBLOC | September 03, 2021
My Travel Bloc Inc. and Bellevue based Dragonchain have entered into a Letter of Intent to co-develop and deploy the most secure and efficient blockchain travel solution on earth.
TravelDragon will combine My Travel Bloc's global travel services platform with Dragonchain's energy efficient hybrid blockchain and patented smart contracts platform. This benchmark solution is designed to process over twenty two thousand (22,000) transactions per second on an environmentally sustainable platform that consumes just 0.00002 Kilowatt hours per transaction.
"This exciting collaboration brings decades of innovative technology, aviation and distribution expertise to the travel industry. Our mission is to disrupt the current status-quo while also solving the many challenges that plagued early adopters of travel-based blockchains. Our hybrid B2B solution offers buyers and suppliers real time engagement in a secure blockchain ecosystem while reducing unnecessary overrides, fees and commissions." - Steve Sedgwick, CEO, My Travel Bloc
Smarter Together- The combined collaborative TravelDragon team is committed to deliver:
Collaboration across the entire travel industry. We are consolidating travel procurement in a win-win solution for both buyer and supplier.
Joint innovation and product development. We are using cutting edge cloud-based blockchain architecture, patented smart contracts, artificial intelligence, and machine learning in a scalable value-added ecosystem.
Industry leading sustainable recycle bin technology. We are helping all participants to actively engage in caring for our planet faithfully and efficiently.
Real-time distributed ledger. We will streamline expense reconciliation and financial transactions.
"We are thrilled to team up with My Travel Bloc to address the real-world problems currently facing the travel industry. Our fundamental capabilities and their passion to build powerful solutions not yet seen in the industry are the perfect match. Dragonchain specializes in behavioral and loyalty incentives to motivate partners and customers towards specific goals. We use patented smart contract technology to completely automate any process including carbon-tracking so that businesses can track and prove their carbon footprint. TravelDragon is set to create the most efficient travel platform the industry has ever seen." - Joe Roets, Founder and CEO, Dragonchain.
About My Travel Bloc
My Travel Bloc is a SaaS travel platform bringing suppliers and buyers together in a low-cost distribution marketplace that minimizes unnecessary commissions, fees and overrides associated with the current global distribution system. By providing a quantum level secure environment that transacts in real time, suppliers are afforded the ability to directly share their valuable service APIs. Deploying tailored smart contracts to airlines, hotels, and the corporate buyer, My Travel Bloc streamlines and enhances the efficiency of supplier/buyer relationships in a value-added ecosystem. For more information, please visit www.mytravelbloc.com
About Dragonchain
Dragonchain simplifies the integration of flexible and secure blockchain-powered solutions interoperable with any external blockchain, legacy system, or application. The platform is designed to be independently scalable as well as sustainable for any entity, business, or organization. Dragonchain understands the needs of businesses and has built a platform of core capabilities to solve the issues businesses face. Dragonchain was originally developed at Disney's Seattle office as the Disney Private Blockchain Platform in 2014, and open sourced in 2016. Dragonchain is America's Blockchain. Learn more at Dragonchain.com
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COMMERCIAL TRAVEL
Wego | February 21, 2022
Wego, the leading online travel marketplace in the MENA region announced that it has signed a definitive agreement with the Flipkart Group, India's homegrown e-commerce ecosystem, to acquire Cleartrip's Middle East business. This transaction also includes the sale of Flyin.com and a technology co-operation agreement between Wego and Flipkart.
The Boards of Directors of Wego and Flipkart have approved the transaction, which is expected to close in the second half of 2022, subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals.Cleartrip is a pioneer of online travel in India and is famous and much loved by customers for its user-friendly interface and industry-first initiatives. Cleartrip expanded organically into the Middle East region in 2010 and acquired Riyadh based Flyin.com in 2018, which played a similar role in kick-starting online travel in Saudi Arabia. Wego and Cleartrip both have their regional headquarters located in Dubai Internet City.
"Cleartrip and Flyin are both product-driven companies with best-in-class OTA technology that have established strong brands and strong positions across the Middle East, We are excited to welcome Cleartrip Middle East and Flyin into the Wego group. The Middle East is set to be one of the most exciting growth stories of the next decade with the travel & technology sectors taking center stage and with the Wego group playing a very crucial role. This acquisition will significantly increase our scale and capabilities and will strengthen our ability to partner and collaborate across our region. We are also excited to begin a multi-faceted partnership with Flipkart that will involve us sharing a brand across regions and co-operating on technology."
-Ross Veitch, CEO & Co-Founder of Wego.
The opportunity in travel tech for India is vast, and through Cleartrip, we have been able to provide our customers with a wide range of travel experiences and deeper value,"said Ravi Iyer, Senior Vice President and Head - Corporate Development, Flipkart. "Given our strategic priorities and focus on the Indian market, the acquisition of Cleartrip's Middle East business by Wego provides continuity to its business, and we believe that they are the right partners to boost its next phase of growth. We thank Stuart for his leadership and partnership over the past year as Cleartrip India has become an integral part of the Flipkart Group and wish him and the Wego team continued success.
"Our focus is clear, building a world-class online travel business emanating from the Middle East but with global ambitions. The region is well placed to be the engine of growth for travel both as a destination and as a highly mobile, digital-savvy demographic looking for choice and value. By joining forces with Wego, we are able to offer everything from search to service and to contribute meaningfully to that story."
-Stuart Crighton, Co-Founder and Head of Cleartrip's International Business,
Rothschild and Co. were exclusive advisors to Flipkart on this transaction.
About Wego
Wego operates the largest online travel marketplace in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region and provides award-winning travel search websites and top-ranked mobile apps.Wego harnesses powerful technology to automate and simplify the process of searching, comparing, and booking travel across hundreds of airlines, hotel chains and online travel agencies.Founded in 2005, Wego is dual headquartered in Dubai and Singapore and is backed by investors including Tiger Global Management, Crescent Point, Square Peg Capital, Middle East Venture Partners, and the MBC Group.
About the Flipkart Group
The Flipkart Group is one of India's leading digital commerce entities and includes group companies Flipkart, Myntra, Flipkart Health+, Flipkart Wholesale, and Cleartrip. The Group is also a majority shareholder in PhonePe, one of the leading Payments Apps in India.Started in 2007, Flipkart has enabled millions of consumers, sellers, merchants, and small businesses to be a part of India's digital commerce revolution, with a registered customer base of more than 350 million, offering over 150 million products across 80+ categories. Our efforts to democratize commerce in India, drive access and affordability, delight customers, create lakhs of jobs in the ecosystem, and empower generations of entrepreneurs and MSMEs have inspired us to innovate on many industry firsts. Flipkart is known for pioneering services such as Cash on Delivery, No Cost EMI and easy returns – customer-centric innovations have made online shopping more accessible and affordable for millions of Indians. Together with its group companies, Flipkart is committed to transforming commerce in India through technology.
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