Hospitality Trends
prnewswire | August 22, 2023
Dripkit Coffee, a leading single-serve pour over solution for a variety of roasters and wholly owned subsidiary of NuZee Inc. (Nasdaq: NUZE), is teaming up with new Columbus, Ohio hotel, The Junto, to launch an in-room coffee solution honoring Ohio State's 1926 homecoming queen, Maudine, the Holstein cow.
In 1727, Benjamin Franklin — you may have heard of him — founded a "club for mutual improvement," which he styled The Junto. Ben's club brought together people from diverse backgrounds to discuss issues and ideas of the time. The Junto hotel is a modern-day embodiment of this idea. With an emphasis on public gathering spaces, the hotel gives visitors, locals, entrepreneurs, and artists alike a place to come together, exchange ideas, and inspire one another.
In designing the packets for this collaboration, The Junto and Dripkit teams drew inspiration from the hotel's breakfast and coffee shop, Maudine's. In 1926, when Rosalind Morrison won the distinction of Ohio State University Homecoming Queen and learned that she had received more votes than there were students at the school, she passed her crown to the runner-up, Maudine Ormsby. An esteemed member of the university's dairy herd, known for her award-winning milk production, Maudine was officially declared Queen.
The black and white cow print Dripkits featuring a small yellow crown can be found in all 198 rooms of the hotel for guests that need a pick-me-up before heading down to Maudine's for breakfast, visiting the hotel's two restaurants or walkup food window, meeting in the multiple event spaces, or hitting one of the many amenities including a gym, patio, working spaces, and "Gear Garage," where hotel guests can borrow bicycles, kayaks, paddleboards, instant cameras, backpacks, and GoPro video cameras.
Founded in 2017 by Ilana Kruger, Dripkit offers single serve pour over coffee formats on a large scale to combine convenience and quality. Dripkits produce a 10oz cup of coffee using 17g of roasted and ground coffee without the prep or cleanup of a traditional pour over. The just-add-water format enables hotel guests and visitors to brew the perfect cup of coffee in two minutes and enjoy freshly roasted specialty coffee on-the-go, sans equipment, and without the mess.
The Junto joins an esteemed line of Dripkit hospitality partners, which include Kayak and Autocamp. Dripkit Coffee is a business division of the NuZee (NASDAQ: NUZE) brand portfolio. To learn more, please visit https://dripkit.coffee.
About The Junto
The Junto is an independent hotel developed by Columbus-based Rockbridge, under the company's Makeready division. This is Makeready's first Columbus hotel, following hotels in Savannah, Charleston, Nashville, Denver and Dallas. The company is planning a second hotel in the Merchant Building underway next to the North Market.
About Dripkit
Dripkit offers a large-size single serve pour over format that delivers what it believes to be a barista-quality coffee experience to coffee drinkers in the United States. The brand has combined its focus on convenience and quality, as well as a goal of using first-rate, ethically sourced coffee beans, to become a leader in the single serve coffee category.
About NuZee Coffee
NuZee, Inc., (NASDAQ: NUZE), is a leading co-packing company for single serve coffee formats that partners with companies of all sizes to help them develop within the single serve and private label coffee category. Providing innovative and eco-conscious solutions with the flexibility and capacity for both small roasters and large global brands, NuZee is revolutionizing the way single serve coffee is enjoyed in the United States. Through the brand's unique process, NuZee fulfills every aspect of co-packing needs, from roasting and blending, to packing and packaging. NuZee has production facilities in the United States and Korea.
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Travel Technology
businesswire | August 07, 2023
OAG, the world’s leading data platform for the global travel industry, has acquired Infare, the leading provider of competitor air travel data, from Ventiga Capital in a deal valuing the combined entity at over US$500m. Together, OAG and Infare have an exciting journey ahead to leverage a truly market-leading end-to-end data platform to serve mission-critical air travel intelligence needs across the world.
With renowned industry heritage, both businesses share a deep passion for quality, accuracy, and customer-centricity. Together, there is a significant opportunity for OAG and Infare to better serve airline partners and the wider travel ecosystem with high-quality data and innovative solutions.
Infare is the partner of choice for airlines demanding the highest quality competitor air travel data source to support their growth. Combining OAG’s existing data solutions with airfare data creates a compelling proposition for customers who can get a broader picture of supply and demand. This enables customers to forecast resource, evaluate travel demand and competition, and build more complex and innovative models to drive revenue and profitable growth.
Through the acquisition, OAG now grows to over 300 employees globally across 10 offices.
Phil Callow, CEO of OAG, commented:
“The increasing dynamism in global travel and technology is fuelling a need for more sophisticated, granular data to understand, manage and unlock growth in air travel. The acquisition of Infare strengthens our ability to deliver consistent and accurate information across the wider supply and demand value chain. Together, we are enabling new and existing customers to thrive and innovate ahead of their counterparts. I am excited to welcome Infare colleagues to the OAG family.”
Nils Gelbjerg-Hansen, CEO of Infare, commented:
“Access to comprehensive and accurate data is paramount for making informed business decisions. Airlines rely on data to gain valuable insights into customer behaviour, market trends, and operational efficiency. Our technology platform, data sets, and intelligence software complement OAG’s and will greatly benefit our customers worldwide. We see this as a unique opportunity to expand our services and introduce new innovative products for our customers, we are excited about the journey ahead together.”
Both management teams will continue in the Group and will retain a shareholding, with fresh backing provided by Vitruvian Partners.
Ben Johnson, a Partner at Vitruvian, commented:
“OAG and Infare are both clear leaders in their respective global markets. The combination creates additional growth opportunities for both teams. Vitruvian is delighted to support this ambitious technology company and renew our relationship with them for the years to come.”
Niclas Gabrán, Managing Partner at Ventiga Capital Partners, commented:
“It has been a pleasure working together with Nils and his team to build Infare into a leading travel data provider through organic growth and acquisitions. Infare’s next chapter as a part of the OAG family will undoubtedly create further growth opportunities both within and outside the air travel sector.”
About OAG
OAGis the leading data platform for the global travel industry, powering the growth and innovation of the air travel ecosystem since 1929. It has the world’s largest network of flight information, covering the whole journey from planning to customer experience. Customers include airlines, airports, travel technology players, aviation service providers, government agencies, financial institutions, and consultancies. Headquartered in the UK, OAG has operations in the USA, Singapore, Japan, China, and Lithuania.
About Infare
Infare is the leading competitor air travel data provider, empowering airlines to make effective pricing decisions. Infare’s mission is to fuel airline systems with high-quality competitor air travel data delivered daily, multiple times a day or live. Founded in 2000 and headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark, the company has a global reach and presence worldwide.
About Vitruvian Partners
Vitruvian is an independent growth capital firm headquartered in London with a global presence. Vitruvian focuses on dynamic situations characterized by rapid growth and change across industries spanning technology, financial services, healthcare, and business and consumer services. Vitruvian is among the largest pools of capital in Europe supporting innovative and higher growth companies. Vitruvian Funds have backed over 90 companies and have assets under management of €15+ billion. Notable investments to date include global market leaders and innovators in their field such as Skyscanner, Sykes Holiday Cottages, CFC Underwriting, CallCredit, Travel Counsellors, Trustpilot, Farfetch, Just Eat, Wise, and Global-e.
About Ventiga Capital Partners
Ventiga is an entrepreneurial and growth-focused investor partnering with exceptional entrepreneurs and management teams to achieve sustainable, profitable growth and transformational value through active, engaged, and responsible ownership. Ventiga invests in profitable growth companies with superior business expansion potential, primarily in the B2B services space.
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Destination and Tourism
prnewswire | August 18, 2023
Global luxury travel network Virtuoso reveals when, where and how the affluent are traveling for the remainder of 2023. Respected as an industry-leading trend forecaster, Virtuoso gathered data and insights from its network of travel advisors, preferred partners and high net worth/ultra-high net worth clientele based on its data warehouse of more than $63.6 billion in transactions and an ongoing series of surveys. The results were shared at luxury travel's leading event, the 35th annual Virtuoso Travel Week. Running August 12-18 in Las Vegas at Bellagio Resort & Casino, ARIA Resort & Casino and Vdara Hotel & Spa, the event is recognized as the Fashion Week of luxury travel for its presentation of the latest news and trends affecting the industry before thousands of industry leaders, as well as the multi-million dollars in travel sales it drives.
The lead story: travel shows no signs of slowing down, despite inflation and global economic challenges. In the first half of 2023, Virtuoso reported a 69 percent uptick in sales versus 2019 numbers, with hotel and cruise segments leading the way, up 173 percent and 122 percent respectively.
Luxury hotels in the U.S. have seen a 57 percent increase compared to 2019, while luxury international hotels have soared to a 58 percent uptick.
Future leisure travel sales leading into 2024-2025 are equally strong. When comparing sales leading into 2020 from 2019, considered to be luxury travel's highwater mark, 2023's future sales are pacing 107 percent higher. Future sales for 2023 into 2024 are also pacing 44 percent higher than they were in 2022 leading into 2023.
Likewise, 2023 future cruise sales are 44 percent higher than they were in 2022 and 106 percent higher versus 2019.
Travelers are heading abroad in record numbers. Paris, London and Florence ranking among the most-booked cities this fall. When it comes to the hottest travel trends, Virtuoso advisors have noted continued demand for exclusive-use experiences, such as private aviation and yachting along with itineraries that incorporate next-level stimulation and engagement (think scientific expeditions in Antarctica). The wellness sector continues to thrive, with 94 percent of travelers incorporating self-care into their travels and a rising interest in programs that incorporate creative and performance art. Iceland has emerged as a wellness destination, as has Thailand, as travel to Asia returns. What hasn't changed, but is even more pronounced following the pandemic, is the importance travelers place on genuine, personalized service and their willingness to invest in collaborating with a travel advisor to arrange VIP treatment and access, to have reassurance, accountability and save time, and to ultimately have the experience they want.
An overview of the information is below, with complete findings here.
Booking analysis is based on transactional data sourced from Virtuoso's travel agency members; wellness and culinary travel insights were based on surveys conducted with Virtuoso advisors; and sustainability findings are the result of a recent in-depth analysis of Virtuoso partners resulting in its Virtuoso Impact Report, Sustainable Travel, 2023.
AboutVirtuoso Travel
Virtuoso is the leading global network of travel agencies specializing in luxury and experiential travel, with more than 20,000 travel advisors. We partner with over 1,800 of the world’s best companies such as hotels, cruise lines, tour operators, and more. Our advisors use their personal connections and firsthand expertise to craft bespoke trips for clients, including unique experiences, special values, complimentary perks, VIP treatment and rare access.
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