• Home
  • Hello! I’m Abrar.
  • Don’t Miss Out – Subscribe Today.
  • Contact
Thursday, June 1, 2023
  • Login
AbrarNotes.com
  • Home
  • Hello! I’m Abrar.
  • Don’t Miss Out – Subscribe Today.
  • Contact
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Hello! I’m Abrar.
  • Don’t Miss Out – Subscribe Today.
  • Contact
No Result
View All Result
AbrarNotes.com
No Result
View All Result
Home Travel Industry

Significant Change Enables Significant Opportunities

September 11, 2022
in Travel Industry, Business
7 0
drew-beamer
17
SHARES
185
VIEWS
Share via EmailShare on TwitterShare on LinkedIn

One notion from last week’s discussion with Jean-Francois that particularly resonated was how significant change – everyone knows the travel industry has experienced and continues to – enables lucrative opportunities.

People ask if the pandemic is forcing me to switch away from exclusively investing in travel companies versus opening up our mandate for other industries, to which my response is a resounding NO. Absolutely not; it’s more profitable to make travel investments with the industry turning the corner on COVID (tangibly and in sentiment).

Now Is Exactly The Time To Invest In Travel

I posit, and my travel investment strategy mirrors this, that times of significant change are exactly when smart money should be investing. Of course, I’m biased, but anybody who knows me appreciates that I’m in no hurry to invest in any prospective investment.

I hate the factors that created these investment opportunities — the pandemic itself and the immeasurable toll around the world — but If you’re like me where you see travel investing not only in the short but also in the medium and long term, now is the time to invest.

I’m seeing countless travel investment opportunities (Sep 2022) at valuations I could never have imagined in parts of the world that are yearning for investment more than ever. From a relative valuation point of view, the two investments we made in the past 12 months have increased more than any other investment in the past decade.

Don’t Be Afraid of Change

In stock market parlance, one wants stocks to increase (my favorite) or decrease in value, but the worst (relatively) is if the stock price does nothing but stay at its current level. Do something, but not nothing.

I remind myself and you not to be afraid of significant change. To me, this translates into leaning into change and focusing on finding opportunities within the current evolution of the travel industry rather than pretending they aren’t there or assuming there are no opportunities (which outside of the travel industry often believe).

One needs to look at our deal calendar (what deals we want to complete for each of the next 12 months), which is as complete, and for ~60 days until I started to calm down, more lucrative and in number than it was pre-pandemic.

As I’ve alluded to in other posts and regular discussions with members of the travel, business, and tech trade, there are pockets of growth within the travel industry if you know where what and when to look. I even took the liberty of naming areas of the world and opportunities in a Feb 2022 post (some seven months ago).

7 Rights Approach

The 7 rights — finding the right company, in the right space, at the right time, with the right amount of funding, with the right team, the right growth plan, and right now — is more applicable than ever.

I can appreciate people thinking it’s the wrong time to invest in travel, but I’m also able to make the case to the contrary (thankfully, our co-investors & LPs agree).

I would say they were right if it was 12 months ago or 18 months ago, but that’s completely changed now, and my experience and the data points I track make an overwhelming case to invest in travel startups, travel companies, and as an industry.  

SendTweet4Share1
Abrar

Abrar

18 years in travel currently as a travel VC/PE investor with investments in 6 countries around the world. Former programmer of travel technology booking engines and GDS integration. Former owner of a boutique OTA.

Related Posts

Differentiation is Critical To Travel Startup Success
Travel Industry

How to Differentiate Your Travel Startup or App

April 25, 2023

While it can be challenging to differentiate travel startups & travel apps from a customer viewpoint (the most important of viewpoints at the end of the day since they are paying all the bills so say), it's an essential...

Differentiation is Critical To Travel Startup Success
Travel Industry

Differentiation is Critical To Travel Startup Success

April 5, 2023

As a traveler or even as somebody from the travel industry, have you ever struggled to differentiate between two different travel app offerings? Perhaps you've found yourself comparing two travel apps, or two different travel software-as-a-service (SaaS) providers (expense...

Travel Industry

The metaverse has the potential to significantly impact the travel industry in several ways.

April 5, 2023

One of the main benefits of the metaverse is that it can provide people with immersive experiences and opportunities for exploration without the need for physical travel. This means that the metaverse could potentially reduce demand for traditional travel...

Travel is an ever-evolving industry, with new trends emerging every year.
Travel Industry

Travel is an ever-evolving industry, with new trends emerging every year.

March 3, 2023

As we move into 2023, there are some exciting new developments that are set to shape the way we travel. In this blog post, we will take a closer look at some of the newest trends in the travel...

About Me

AbrarNotes.com

Hello, I'm Abrar!

I live, eat and breathe the business of travel.

18+ years travel industry experience presently as travel-focused VC/PE firm Partner focusing on 20+ travel verticals within 12+ travel markets. I've spoken to 5-5000 audiences at notable industry conferences (The Economist, IATA, SITA) in addition to CNBC, The Economist, SKIFT, and PhocusWire media coverage. I used to be a travel agent, travel technology developer, and boutique OTA owner.

Categories

  • Business (3)
  • Technology (2)
  • Travel Industry (16)

Latest Posts

Differentiation is Critical To Travel Startup Success

How to Differentiate Your Travel Startup or App

April 25, 2023
Differentiation is Critical To Travel Startup Success

Differentiation is Critical To Travel Startup Success

April 5, 2023

The metaverse has the potential to significantly impact the travel industry in several ways.

April 5, 2023
Travel is an ever-evolving industry, with new trends emerging every year.

Travel is an ever-evolving industry, with new trends emerging every year.

March 3, 2023
Photo by Marc Rafanell López on Unsplash

Make Tough Capital Decisions Now

November 17, 2022
  • Hello! I’m Abrar.
  • Subscribe
  • Contact

© 2022 AbrarNotes - notes on the travel industry, technology and business.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Hello! I’m Abrar.
  • Don’t Miss Out – Subscribe Today.
  • Contact

© 2022 AbrarNotes - notes on the travel industry, technology and business.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.