Travel startups say Omicron disruptions create opportunities

Executives at the startup, which offers services such as flexible booking, apartment accommodation and touchless hotel check-in, say business has come to a halt as of now.

“Oddly enough, O’Micron and [travel] Changes and cancellations have created a lot of opportunities,” said Henley Vazquez, chief executive and co-founder of venture-backed travel agency Fora. The company, launched this year, seeks to bring travel agency into the digital age, enabling people to Sales can help. Travel, whether as a full time job or in your spare time.

Ms Vazquez said Fora, whose legal name is Greenwich & Warren Inc., generated higher-than-expected revenue in December. Ms Vazquez said about 20% to 30% of Fora’s customers—most of whom are in the US—have canceled travel plans in the past two weeks, many of them worried about being stuck abroad because of a positive Covid-19 test. . But “almost none of them ultimately stayed at home,” she said, with most bookings for domestic destinations, and paying top dollar for last-minute accommodations.

Ms. Vazquez said, even Fora’s customers are not deterred by the many flight cancellations in the US, with some taking advantage of refundable fares and booking multiple flights in case someone cancels.

“There is demand and travelers are determined as hell and they want to go somewhere,” Ms Vazquez said. Plus, he said, “it hasn’t been so confusing to travel,” so people are turning to travel agents for help navigate restrictions and other travel surprises related to the pandemic. Some of Fora’s new agents were able to start business this month faster than Ms. Vazquez expected, as they helped find alternatives for friends whose plans were changed because of Omicron.

Fora earlier this year raised a $5 million seed round led by Forerunner Ventures.

Before the pandemic, hotel performance in the US overall was higher in the week ended December 18 than the same week in 2019, according to the latest data from hospitality industry data provider STR. Across the US, occupancy for the week was 53.8%, and the average daily rate was $121.87, up 7.7% and 11.6%, respectively, from 2019, according to STR.

The increase in Omicron’s cases has had a limited negative impact on the business of Mint House Inc., a startup founded in 2017 that manages approximately 2,000 short-term rental apartments in U.S. facilities at Mint House properties, which include kitchens with groceries. which the visitors order before their stay.

Will Lucas, the company’s founder and CEO, said two of Mint House’s 15 US markets had stable trading in December.

The outliers were New York, where the occupancy rate dropped to 60% amid cancellations, and Denver, where occupancy fell to 54%, he said. Mr Lucas said that before Omicron, Mint House expected those cities to be occupied by 70% or more people this month.

Overall, Mint House’s 2021 revenue quadrupled from 2020 levels, Mr. Lucas said. The CEO said the pandemic has reshaped how people work and travel which has benefited the company. For example, people who work remotely are working for a few days around the weekend, while working that time, which increases the demand for apartment living, he said.

“The way the world is changing in response to Covid, it perfectly aligns with the product we are offering. It’s been a great year for us,” Mr Lucas said.

Mint House has raised nearly $50 million from Revolution Ventures, a firm started by AOL co-founder Steve Case, as well as venture investors including Ingleside Investors and Nextview Ventures.

Casa Living Inc., a startup founded in 2016 that offers contactless check-in at hotels and apartments in about 45 U.S. metro areas, hasn’t seen a drop in demand among Omicron, said Roman co-founder and head of Casa. Peden said executive.

Even Duffy’s, its location in midtown Manhattan, where some Broadway shows have been canceled, has taken up above 80% this month, he said, with average rates in December up from about $163 in November. increased to $198.

Casa Living has also received more requests from hoteliers, who are troubled by the continuing COVID-19 uncertainty and are looking for another company to manage their properties. The CEO said this is helping Casa sign new property deals. The company operates properties on behalf of the owners, and typically pays the owners a portion of the revenue that comes from guest bookings. According to data provider Crunchbase, it raised about $56 million from investors including Ribbit Capital, Zig Capital, Firstmark Capital and others.

Even as the pandemic progresses, people want to travel, Mr Peden said.

“People are starting to shift: How do I move on with my life while trying to reduce my overall risk?” he said.