EDITOR'S COMMENT
After following last week's editorial comments, this week's edition might bring on a sense of déjà vu, with another company that went public via a SPAC [special purpose acquisition company] merger continuing to report struggles and a volatile share price.
Like Vacasa, Sonder and Selina, luxury travel subscription brand Inspirato has seen its share price tumble since going public via a merger with a SPAC [Thayer Ventures Acquisition Corporation] in February 2022, dropping to a record low of $3.32 last month from a high of $1098 at the time of the merger. Its fortunes have been compounded by multiple layoff rounds [three in the space of a year and a half], an overhaul of its executive team and the ongoing threat of a delisting from the Nasdaq Stock Market due to a "failure to maintain minimum market value" for public shares.
Private equity firm One Planet Group, spearheaded by founder and new Inspirato CEO, Payam Zamani, is new on the scene to revive the ailing company's fortunes with a $10 million equity financing. While that will bring some relief, a $25 million convertible note investment from Capital One Ventures last October also did little to reverse Inspirato's downward trajectory. That preceded more job losses and a further decline in share price, leaving us to wonder whether the new funding is a lifeline to Inspirato or simply delaying the inevitable.
Despite returning to profitability in Q1 and seeing a gradual upturn in its share price last week, the luxury brand reported a 20 per cent year-over-year downturn in revenue for Q2, plus the number of active Inspirato subscriptions dropped by around 300 on the previous quarter. As it trims its costs, Inspirato's new and existing backers must still see potential in the business, but its long-term future might just depend on their forecast for the travel market this year and beyond, and ultimately how deep their pockets are.
• I'm delighted to welcome Sam Cooper to the IHM team as the head of growth for STRz. Sam will be responsible for creating and developing relationships with clients across the STR market, working across our digital content offering [e.g. podcasts, webinars etc] and in-person events [Shortyz Awards, STRz Summit, Recharge, Urban Living Festival] - contact him at sam@internationalhospitality.media to collaborate with us on these exciting opportunities.
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