Luxury travel SPAC deal takes subs to next level

Inspirato

30/06/2021 21:08

(The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions
expressed are their own.)
    NEW YORK, June 30 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Inspirato wants
to shift travel – and subscription-based business models – up a
notch. The elite vacations firm has agreed to merge https://d1io3yog0oux5.cloudfront.net/_9b05caf495b4c6e669d90200e8f785bb/thayerventures/db/851/7370/presentation/FINAL+Investor+Deck.pdf
 with special purpose acquisition company Thayer Ventures
Acquisition  TVAC.O  in a deal valuing it at $1.1 billion.
Subscriptions are in vogue, but this takes the idea to a new
level. 
    Think of Inspirato as a cross between Airbnb  ABNB.O , Soho
House  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL5N2O5446, and Expedia  EXPE.O . Its 12,500-ish
customers pay memberships for access to swanky hotels, resorts
and residences – either $600 a month plus the price of each
stay, or $2,500 all-inclusive. Luxury hotels can sell empty
rooms to Inspirato at a discount, without having to publicly cut
their rates. Customers get variety and luxury at a predictable
price.
    It’s a neat idea, but will the rich commit? The company
compares itself to Netflix  NFLX.O  and other businesses that
take monthly fees. But there’s a difference. A Netflix
subscription of $168 per year is just 0.2% of the median U.S.
household income – small enough to sign up and forget. An
Inspirato Pass member making $250,000 a year would be stumping
up 12% of their income, an altogether different proposition. (By
Jennifer Saba)
    
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 (Editing by John Foley and Amanda Gomez)
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