BUSINESS TRAVEL
prnewswire | April 12, 2023
Whimstay, Inc., the marketplace leader for last-minute vacation rental bookings, announces today that it has secured $10 million in equity financing. The investment will fund key new hires and the development of new products and features focused on search experience, guest engagement, more integrated dynamic pricing, flexibility for guests, loyalty and rewards programs, ancillary fintech products, and multiple conversion initiatives that will generate more bookings for property managers during periods that typically experience lower occupancy rates and RevPAR. Roughly 50 percent of vacation rental nights stay vacant every year. Whimstay is uniquely positioned to book nights that would have otherwise gone unrented. This lost revenue for property managers and owners represents a $60 billion market opportunity.
Whimstay offers travelers the best deals and significant savings on last-minute vacation rentals across North America. For property managers and owners, the company offers better economics, more control over the customer experience, robust reporting and reconciliation, reduced dependency on larger, less user-friendly, and more expensive channels, and, most importantly, generates incremental bookings, revenue, and profitability above and beyond the property manager's direct bookings and those from other channels.
"Closing our financing amidst a myriad of extremely challenging market conditions is a testament to the caliber of our amazing team, our differentiated product offering, the quality of our partner and customer relationships, the size of our market opportunity, and the confidence our investors have in our ability to strengthen our position as the leading vacation rental marketplace focused on booking last-minute stays," said Whimstay's CEO David Weiss.
"Propelled by our proprietary marketing engine, product features and functionality, and unique go-to-market strategy, we're able to attract incremental guests and generate incremental bookings for property managers and owners. We complement a property manager's overall distribution strategy by providing specific capabilities and conducting specific types of missions, all focused on booking last-minute stays. As a result, bookings on Whimstay are up 7x YTD vs. the same period last year, and March was our highest booking month in the company's history. Guest traffic and bookings are further accelerating due to our recent integration into Google Vacation Rentals, giving us access to millions of potential guests."
About Whimstay
Whimstay is a vacation rental marketplace that offers travelers the best deals on vacation rentals across North America. For property managers and owners, Whimstay books nights last-minute that would have otherwise gone un-rented, and certain property managers are now utilizing the company to fill vacancies during shoulder seasons, off-seasons, and other booking windows throughout the year that typically experience lower occupancy rates and RevPAR. From beautiful beach homes to the world's best ski retreats to cozy mountain cabins and more, Whimstay currently offers vacation rental homes and condos in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico and is adding new properties and destinations daily.
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HOSPITALITY TRENDS
SH Hotels & Resorts | May 29, 2023
1 Hotels, the nature-inspired luxury lifestyle hotel brand founded by hospitality visionary Barry Sternlicht, announces that its UK flagship and first European destination, located in the heart of London's historic Mayfair, is now accepting reservations with an anticipated opening date of July 13, 2023. The nine-story sustainable sanctuary overlooks the stately trees and verdant lawns of magnificent Green Park, just steps away from the world-class galleries, sophisticated boutiques, first-class restaurants and renowned emporia of Bond Street, Berkeley Square and Piccadilly.
1 Hotel Mayfair consciously creates an unexpected fusion of sustainability and luxury in the fashionable heart of London's most exclusive hospitality district. The hotel brings a fresh breath of air enlivened by a deep love of and respect for nature within easy strolling distance of capital highlights such as The Royal Academy, the West End theatre district, and Buckingham Palace.
"We are delighted to bring nature and our mission of sustainable luxury to Mayfair, the very heart of London, one of the most important travel markets in the world," said Barry Sternlicht, 1 Hotels Founder and Chairman of SH Hotels & Resorts. "We are thrilled to bring our unique fusion of fresh comfort, conscious sustainability, exceptional bespoke service, understated elegance, wellness and nutrition to London."
"We've reimagined the traditional luxury hotel experience for Mayfair by infusing our love for nature with effortless sophistication," said SH Hotels & Resorts Chief Executive Officer Raul Leal. "With this opening we celebrate our distinctive brand's entry into Europe and the dynamic and culturally rich city of London."
Opting for reconstruction over new construction, this urban oasis, built to BREEAM Excellent standards, utilised 80% of the existing structure, which was repurposed to minimise adverse environmental impact. Living green-trellised exterior walls transform former hard surfaces into natural vertical landscapes. A freshly cobbled and pedestrianised previous parking lot creates a harmonious outdoor public space, now gifted to the neighbourhood, where passing Londoners can connect to nature and the surrounding community.
Atop the building, two new complete floors were added and introduce 35 stunning suites with floor-to-ceiling windows and expansive outdoor spaces, inviting guests to entertain or relax while overlooking Green Park, one of London's eight Royal Parks. The double height Green Park Penthouse Suite features a sprawling footprint of 274 square metres which makes it the largest 1 Bedroom Suite in Mayfair. The Green Park Penthouse can be further expanded to 2 bedrooms at 304 square metres and 3 bedrooms at 340 square metres. It features a wrap-around terrace and retractable sliding doors that open fully to sweeping and dramatic park views. All 181 rooms including 44 suites invite guests to rest, revive and restore in an enveloping nest, warmly welcomed by walls lined with native British moss and more than 200 local and regional plant species thriving throughout the property. At every interior turn, guests encounter works exclusively commissioned from nature-influenced local artists designed to provoke a sense of closer connection to the venerable landscape of Britain.
Dovetale, the ground-floor restaurant from internationally renowned two Michelin starred chef Tom Sellers will feature seasonal, organic, locally sourced quality fare from hand-dived scallops to farm-raised lamb. The signature cocktail bar is named after Dover Yard, which has been painstakingly revitalised as part of the project. The menu offers creative concoctions rooted in local traditions. Neighbours Cafe offers light snacks and barista-made ethical fair-trade coffee at a central communal table. The Bamford Wellness Spa offers the best of bespoke treatments following in full faith Lady Bamford's holistic approach to health and wellness.
1 Hotel Mayfair effortlessly fuses the finest natural sources, resources and artisanal products inspired by British heritage with the buzzy creativity and contemporary charm of 21st Century London's most vibrant neighbourhood.
ABOUT SH HOTELS & RESORTS
SH Hotels & Resorts, an affiliate of global private investment firm Starwood Capital Group, is a sustainable hotel brand management company that operates 1 Hotels, a nature-inspired lifestyle brand that launched in 2015 with properties in South Beach and Manhattan and now includes Brooklyn Bridge, West Hollywood, Sanya (China), Toronto, San Francisco, Nashville and the recently opened Hanalei Bay flagship property with projects in development in London, Cabo San Lucas, Paris, Elounda Hills (Crete), Austin, Copenhagen, Riyadh and Melbourne; Baccarat Hotels & Resorts, a luxury brand that made its debut in March 2015 with the opening of its flagship property in New York, with projects under development in Brickell (Miami), Florence, Riyadh, Dubai and Rome; and Treehouse Hotels, which premiered in London in 2019 and with projects under development in Manchester, Sunnyvale, Brickell (Miami) and Riyadh. Leveraging its marketing, design, operational and technological expertise, SH Hotels & Resorts is the force behind some of the most groundbreaking and dynamic hotel brands in the world.
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TRAVEL TECHNOLOGY
businesswire | May 04, 2023
Sphere Entertainment Co. (NYSE: SPHR) (the “Company” or “Sphere Entertainment”) today announced it has completed the sale of its 66.9% majority interest in Tao Group Hospitality to Mohari Hospitality, a global investment company focused on the luxury lifestyle and hospitality sectors.
The completion of the sale follows a successful bidding process with multiple parties, which reflects that since the Company acquired a majority interest in 2017, Tao Group Hospitality has transformed into a global powerhouse in entertainment dining and hospitality. As previously disclosed, in connection with the sale, Sphere Entertainment has also entered into a multi-year agreement with Tao Group Hospitality for ongoing consulting, marketing, and support services.
About Sphere Entertainment Co
Sphere Entertainment Co. is a premier live entertainment and media company. The Company includes Sphere, a next-generation entertainment medium powered by cutting-edge technologies to redefine the future of entertainment. The first Sphere venue is currently under construction in Las Vegas. In addition, the Company includes MSG Networks, which operates two regional sports and entertainment networks, MSG Network and MSG Sportsnet, as well as a companion streaming service, MSG GO, delivering a wide range of live sports content and other programming.
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