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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FEATURES AND ADVICE
prnewswire | April 25, 2023
Notabene has published its second comprehensive State of Crypto Travel Rule Compliance Report, which provides insightful results from their 2023 global Travel Rule compliance survey. This report follows the successful inaugural report, which provided the industry's first-ever comprehensive analysis of Travel Rule compliance.
"This year's report highlights that Travel Rule compliance is becoming increasingly global, with nearly a quarter (23%) of the surveyed companies needing to comply with Travel Rule requirements in more than one jurisdiction. These findings suggest that the Travel Rule is becoming more global in nature, underscoring the need for a solution to the common cross-border challenges posed by the Travel Rule," says CEO Pelle Braendgaard.
The State of Travel Rule report includes survey results from financial institutions and crypto companies worldwide on how prepared they are for upcoming regulatory deadlines. Sixty-nine companies completed the survey, representing broad global coverage.
The report includes real-world feedback on differences in Travel Rule adoption across jurisdictions, approaches to implementation, components of compliance, and summarizes adoption pitfalls. Key findings show that 84% of companies are already complying or plan to by the end of 2023, and 75% of respondents impose some restrictions on transactions with self-hosted wallets. The report also found that of those who comply, 37.5% perform the travel rule post-transaction, not fulfilling today's FATF requirements.
"Our global and diverse respondents have reinforced the global nature and the various levels of Travel Rule compliance." says Lana Schwartzman, Head of Regulatory and Compliance at Notabene. "VASPs are asking for a unified and interoperable global approach for reaching their counterparties and transmitting Travel Rule messages. As a result, regulators must work together with industry to develop a unified approach to Travel Rule compliance that addresses the needs of the entire industry. We are already seeing this in the EU and UK and hope other regions will follow."
This year's report includes a comprehensive illustration of the current global state of Travel Rule adoption, showcasing key information regarding jurisdictional enforcement, including information on the enforcement status of each jurisdiction, as well as the threshold amount and self-hosted wallet obligations. This information is crucial for businesses seeking to comply with the Travel Rule.
About Notabene
Notabene is crypto's only pre-transaction decision making platform. We enable customers to identify and stop high-risk activity before it occurs.
Notabene's SafeTransact platform helps financial institutions and crypto businesses unlock their full potential in the digital economy. With a focus on security, privacy, and end-user experience, Notabene customers can use our multi-source data and software to automate real-time decision-making, perform counterparty sanctions screening, identify self-hosted wallets, and complete the smooth roll out of Travel Rule compliance, all in line with global and local regulations.
Notabene is SOC-2 security certified since 2021. Over 85 companies leverage our software to manage real-time regulatory and counterparty risk in virtual asset transactions, including Copper, Luno, Crypto.com and Bitstamp. Headquartered in New York, Notabene is a global company with presence in Switzerland, Singapore, and the United Kingdom.
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TRAVEL TECHNOLOGY
businesswire | May 26, 2023
Exhale™ the leading health and wellness brand, announces a collaboration with Virgin Hotels New York City to help serve hotel guests and the community with access to its transformative mind-body therapies and programming. Exhale™ continues to expand its footprint, giving communities a new standard of well-being with the proven quality and service for over the last 23 years.
The long-standing brand will now offer boutique wellness services catering to the hotel's guests and neighborhood visitors. The updated programming will include recovery services: floating massage chairs, IV drips, sound and vibrational therapy, infrared therapy and the first European snow room to be unveiled in North America. In addition to their well-known fitness and spa services, guests will have an enhanced experience that embraces new technology and services.
"Together, Exhale™ and its hospitality partners provide impactful, total mind-body wellness experiences to improve inner and outer well-being through boutique fitness classes, results-driven spa therapies and recovery services while collaborating with the industry's best-in-class partners," said Kim Vaughn, chief commercial officer, Exhale™. "We are thrilled to expand Exhale™ with such an iconic brand like Virgin Hotels, which allows even more people to access our wellbeing-focused programs. Located in this beautiful hotel, Exhale™ is a destination spa experience designed to enhance everyday life and assist our communities with their daily well-being routines."
“We look forward to welcoming Exhale™ to Virgin Hotels New York City,” said James Bermingham, chief executive officer, Virgin Hotels. “It will serve as a valuable amenity for our guests and locals looking to relax and recharge from the bustle of Manhattan life.
Exhale's foray into the hospitality space will meet the needs of travelers as well as hotel developers. Exhale™ supports several luxury and lifestyle brands across the US and Bermuda. Exhale™ at Virgin Hotels New York City is scheduled to open December 2023.
"Exhale™ has been a stalwart brand in NYC for many years, and their move into being more closely aligned with the hospitality industry makes perfect sense as wellness services have been in demand as more people prioritize self-care," said Jeffrey Roseman of Newmark. "Any real estate owner looking to amenitize their property would benefit from a partnership with Exhale™ as they can take smaller spaces and create a best-in-class wellness destination for tenants and area residents."
The new Exhale™ space requires a minimal footprint of 4,000 square feet, and the brand has an in-house development, design and construction team that can quickly build out its requirements led by its founder Julia Sutton, architect and designer James Harb and construction management team led by Peter Bryant. of IDCC, LLC This added all in-house service offers owners peace of mind since the tenant has a successful history of setting up shop in raw open space.
Exhale™ was founded in 2002 in New York City with its first location. They are most known for being one of the first pioneers of Barre classes and high-quality spa services. The Virgin Hotel marks the brand's fourth NYC outpost in hospitality.
About Exhale
Exhale™ is a unique well-being brand that has addressed mind and body through spa and fitness for 23 years. Dedicated to total well-being, Exhale™ operates in luxury hotels across the U.S. and Caribbean, offering dozens of proprietary boutique fitness classes and award-winning, transformative spa therapies, including new recovery services with Therabody and IV drips.
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