STAY ONE DEGREE CONFIRMS UP TO US$5 MILLION IN SERIES A FUNDING LED BY MANDARIN ORIENTAL HOTEL GROUP
The exclusive private homes membership community Stay One Degree has partnered with Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group, the award-winning owner-operator of some of the world’s most luxurious hotels, resorts and residences.
The exclusive private homes membership community Stay One Degree has joined forces with the award-winning luxury travel operator, Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group. Thanks to strategic investment from Mandarin Oriental, which operates 33 hotels and seven residences in 23 countries and territories, Stay One Degree will now be able to expand its global portfolio of luxury homes and move into new and underpenetrated markets. It will also enable Stay One Degree’s members to access new experiences, including the launch of a mobile app, a new cutting-edge website, an online concierge service, and a range of collaborations with global luxury brands.
Since its launch in 2018, the company founded by Thomas Bennett and Jorge Munoz now offers more than 3,500 homes in over 250 destinations to members in over 70 countries. Based on the so-called “degree of separation” concept, it uses technology to connect like-minded members and enable them to rent luxury homes within a group of trusted members.
The news comes in the wake of Air BNB buying up luxury retreats last year. Said a spokesman for Stay One Degree, “Following Air BNB’s valuation last week at $100bn it's clear that strategic investor confidence continues in this emerging demand for luxury private residence rentals coupled with the service of world-beating brands. We have survived and thrived in 2020 partly because of our global diversity, as opposed to being limited by a single destination.”
Said co-founder Bennett, "We are absolutely thrilled to have closed this Series A funding round and have a new strategic partner and shareholder in Mandarin Oriental, which in my mind is the most luxurious hotel brand in the world, offering legendary service standards and impeccable attention to detail. We share their core values and obsessive focus on offering our members a unique experience whenever they stay in our homes.”
Added Munoz, “With the boundaries between luxury holiday homes and hotels becoming increasingly blurred and the needs of the luxury traveller constantly evolving, we are delighted to be partnering with Mandarin Oriental, bringing together our two luxury brands via a strategic partnership. Customers of Mandarin Oriental have for decades enjoyed incredible, personalised service and we look forward to learning from their wealth of expertise in the luxury segment as well as offering a unique and unrivalled range of luxury accommodation and experiences to customers of both brands.”
James Riley, CEO of Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group, said: “We look forward to working closely with Tom and Jorge as they expand their exceptional offering of wonderful homes and services to discerning global travellers. We see definite opportunities for our brands to collaborate together and look forward to exploring ways to introduce new luxury experiences that combine the best of both brands.”