LODGING LEADERS
178 | Connecting Travel Startup Founders, Investors and Corporations with John Matson
LODGING LEADERS
John Matson is the Managing Director of Voyager HQ, a club bringing together startup founders, corporate partners, and investors in the travel, tourism, and hospitality industry. Since their start in the summer of 2016, Voyager HQ has grown to a community of over 1,000 members, dozens of partners, and hundreds of investors in over 55 countries.
When he is not connecting the travel industry, John is the Programming Chair and Co-Founder for the NYC Innovation Collective, a nonprofit alliance of NYC’s top technology organizations working together to support program leaders of incubators, accelerators, and startup communities, along with the Co-Director of Startup Grind chapter in NYC, a monthly speaker series to educate, motivate, and connect entrepreneurs in over 300 cities around the world.
In his spare time, John co-hosts two podcasts, Travel is Your Business, focusing on the intersection of travel, business, and technology, and 5to9, a podcast interviewing people who pursue passions through side projects outside their 9 to 5 jobs.
In This Episode, John Reveals …
- The vision behind Voyager HQ, the service they provide, and who their ideal customer is
- Some of the pitfalls to avoid with startups, and some common red flags folks should look out for
- How to spot a good deal, both as an investor and as a customer
- His podcast, ‘Travel is Your Business’
Resources & Links
John Matson
- Email: john
@voyagerhq.com
Voyager HQ
LODGING LEADERS
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346 | Repositioning For Recovery: Hotel conversions to outpace new builds
Lodging Econometrics has tracked the hotel industry since 1998. Its global database includes new-hotel pipelines as well as renovations and brand conversions. Hotel franchisers once eager to launch new brands are focused on converting existing hotels because it’s a faster way to recover revenue lost to the COVID-19 pandemic than through new construction. In Episode 346, Lodging Leaders explores the increasing number of conversions in the U.S. hotel industry and what owners and operators need to consider before repositioning an asset.
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345 | ‘Rosy View of Future’: Hotel industry sees unleashing of pent-up investor demand
In the first few months of the COVID-19 pandemic in the U.S., financiers anticipated a swell of distressed hotel businesses. Some raised rescue funds to respond to what they thought was a pending crisis. Though there are financial rescues taking place, the level of such activity is far below what industry advisers and fund managers expected. Commercial real estate investors positioned to act in the early days of the pandemic held off and are now just beginning to unleash their cash hoards totaling billions of dollars. Episode 345 of Lodging Leaders podcast explores the state of capital investment in the hotel industry.