The millennial tour provider Intrepid Travel plans to open 15 hotels
This post contains references to products from one or more of our advertisers. We may receive compensation when you click on links to those products. Terms apply to the offers listed on this page. For an explanation of our Advertising Policy, visit this page.
Australia-based tour company Intrepid Travel is getting into the hotel business, it announced this week.
A popular provider of immersive tours with an emphasis on adventure and sustainability, Intrepid aims to open 15 hotels across Australia and New Zealand over the next four years before, hopefully, branching out to popular destinations in Asia, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.
For more TPG news delivered each morning to your inbox, sign up for our daily newsletter.
Teaming up with Drifter Hospitality Group, the new properties will be called “Drifter — an Intrepid Hotel” and offer a mix of private and hostel-style shared rooms in urban locations focused on attracting millennial travelers. The hotels will also feature on-site restaurants and bars designed to cater to the same demographic, alongside cultural attractions. The hotels, it seems, are geared toward the same types of younger travelers who already book Intrepid trips from Alaska to Peru and beyond.
To get there, Drifter and Intrepid are working to snatch up closed or distressed hotels across the two countries, with initial plans to raise roughly $56 million to open the first 15 properties. Four hotels, according to Skift, are slated to open in 2022 with Brisbane, Australia, and Wellington, Auckland and Christchurch in New Zealand in the first wave.
If all goes according to plan, approximately $375 million will be raised for its future expansion into Asia.
As the Sydney Morning Herald reported, Intrepid booked over 1 million hotel rooms for travelers in 2019, but that doesn’t mean these new hotels will be used exclusively for tours. In fact, James Thorton, Intrepid’s CEO, told Skift that they’re “more about the attraction of a new customer.”
Intrepid isn’t the only well-known lifestyle brand expanding into the hotel space. Earlier this year, the travel booking site Kayak opened its first Kayak-branded hotel in Miami, leveraging its loyal customer base and sheer brand power to create a physical space for a digital brand.
Similarly, the wellness brand Equinox, which has luxury gyms around the world, opened a fitness-centric hotel in New York City; Luxury retailer Shinola brought its passion for Detroit design to the next level with the Shinola Hotel; and Restoration Hardware, now called RH, is opening a series of guesthouses in New York and Aspen.
While we wait for more solid details about the new Intrepid Hotels, most of us don’t need to feel too rushed to make travel plans. Opening dates for the properties are still a mystery and both Australia as well as New Zealand remain closed to tourists.
Feature image by f11photo/Getty Images.
Sign-up Successful!
Welcome to The Points Guy!
Earn 90,000 bonus miles after you spend $3,000 in purchases on your new Card in your first 3 months. Offer ends 8/3/2022.
With Status Boost™, earn 10,000 Medallion Qualification Miles (MQMs) after you spend $25,000 in purchases on your Card in a calendar year, up to two times per year getting you closer to Medallion Status. Earn 3X Miles on Delta purchases and purchases made directly with hotels, 2X Miles at restaurants and at U.S. supermarkets and earn 1X Mile on all other eligible purchases. Terms Apply.
- Limited Time Offer: Earn 90,000 bonus miles after you spend $3,000 in purchases on your new Card in your first 3 months. Offer ends 8/3/2022.
- Earn up to 20,000 Medallion® Qualification Miles (MQMs) with Status Boost® per year. After you spend $25,000 in purchases on your Card in a calendar year, you can earn 10,000 MQMs up to two times per year, getting you closer to Medallion® Status. MQMs are used to determine Medallion® Status and are different than miles you earn toward flights.
- Earn 3X Miles on Delta purchases and purchases made directly with hotels.
- Earn 2X Miles at restaurants worldwide including takeout and delivery in the U.S., and at U.S. supermarkets.
- Earn 1X Miles on all other eligible purchases.
- Receive a Domestic Main Cabin round-trip companion certificate each year upon renewal of your Card. Payment of the government imposed taxes and fees of no more than $80 for roundtrip domestic flights (for itineraries with up to four flight segments) is required. Baggage charges and other restrictions apply. See terms and conditions for details.
- Enjoy your first checked bag free on Delta flights.
- Fee Credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck® after you apply through any Authorized Enrollment Provider. If approved for Global Entry, at no additional charge, you will receive access to TSA PreCheck.
- Enjoy an exclusive rate of $39 per person per visit to enter the Delta Sky Club® for you and up to two guests when traveling on a Delta flight.
- No Foreign Transaction Fees.
- $250 Annual Fee.
- Terms Apply.
- See Rates & Fees
Disclaimer: The responses below are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser’s responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.
Editorial Disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airlines or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.