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18-month-old travel startup unlocks new capital to meet increasing customer demand
AUSTIN, Texas, Nov. 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Wander.com announced that it has closed a $100M credit facility with Zürich-based Credit Suisse, a leading global investment bank and financial services firm. With this capital infusion, Wander will invest in expanding its network of smart vacation homes from coast-to-coast to more than double the size of their portfolio in the first half of 2023 –– placing Wander properties within a 3-hour drive of 80% of the U.S. population.
This $100M financing is the first institutional lending facility for the luxury vacation rental market. David Molotsky, VP of Finance at Wander, said, "Having the support of an institution like Credit Suisse is a transformational opportunity for our business. We'll be leveraging the capital to dramatically expand our rental offerings. As the interest in domestic travel continues to compound, we're committed to meeting the demand in the market by scaling our portfolio of vacation homes to incredible new, highly-desired coast-to-coast destinations."
The financing was led by Credit Suisse's award-winning Securitized Products Group, which focuses on asset backed lending and capital markets transactions. Kwaw de Graft-Johnson, a Managing Director in the group, commented, "We were very impressed with Wander's progress and execution to date, and their traction speaks volumes about the expertise of their team. We see an enormous opportunity set in front of the company, as new consumer travel behaviors and remote work continue to accelerate the shift from hotels to vacation rentals."
In addition to the $100M facility for expansion, Wander recently announced the launch of Wander Atlas, the industry's first and only vacation rental REIT. Atlas transforms Wander's customers into partial property owners by enabling them to own a piece of the inspiring network of homes while unlocking the potential to earn high yield-passive income and diversifying their portfolio. In the first 48 hours after launch, Wander saw millions investment interest. Both the Atlas REIT and $100M credit facility from Credit Suisse enable the 18-month-old company to scale efficiently.
Wander was founded in May 2021 with the mission of building the travel experience of the future and helping people find their happy place. Wander is uniquely different from other companies in the travel space because they control 100% of the homes on the platform, which is essential to providing uncompromising high quality, smart technology, and a wide range of unique, inspiring locations for every guest experience, with no surprise fees when booking or tasks upon checkout.
Across 2,000+ nights booked since launching in early 2022, Wander has a 94.6% customer satisfaction rate in their check-out survey amongst customers, who highlight "consistency, quality and excellent service" as top reasons for choosing Wander over traditional travel options. Through the Wander app, consumers can book a smart vacation home with inspiring views, modern workstations, restful beds, hotel-grade cleaning and 24/7 concierge services to have full home control at their fingertips –– from opening the door, to turning on the lights, adjusting the temperature and accessing a Tesla in the garage.
Kyle Tibbitts, Chief Marketing Officer at Wander, said, "We're seeing a tectonic shift in consumer behavior where travelers are demanding the quality of a luxury hotel paired with the comfort and space of a vacation home. This foundational financial infrastructure unlocks a powerful flywheel where invested capital allows us to launch new markets, new markets open up access to new customers and those customers can invest back into our ecosystem to drive more growth."
Wander currently has properties coast-to-coast in incredible locations like Vail, Tahoe, Joshua Tree, Asheville, Hudson Valley and coastal properties in California, Florida, Oregon and South Carolina.
About Wander:Wander is a network of smart vacation homes in inspiring places that you can control from your phone. Every Wander comes with inspiring views, modern workstations, restful beds, hotel-grade cleaning and 24/7 concierge service. It's a vacation home, but better. Wander has raised $30M+ in funding from QED Investors, Redpoint Ventures, Authentic Ventures, Susa Ventures, Kevin Durant, Packy McCormick, Sahil Bloom, Todd & Rahul's Angel Fund and other top angel investors and operators to build the travel experience of the future. Learn more at wander.com.
CONTACT: press@wander.com
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SOURCE Wander