Flash sales sites had their beginnings in the area of designer apparel for women. But flash sales sites are now entering other areas of the luxury market as well, including the travel sector. The latest start-up to join this bandwagon is Spire, a members-only travel flash site website that deals in hotel bookings. The property belongs to Perfect Escapes Inc., the company that heads other luxury travel websites like PerfectEscapes, Chic Retreats, Suzanne’s Files and TravelIntelligence.
Perfect Escapes Inc. CEO Alan Joseph is currently working hard to transform the young Spire into a profit-making venture. He has already organized venture capital from companies like Saints Capital, Trident Capital and Big Bang Ventures among others. Joseph describes Spire as “the next generation flash sale travel site”. While other sites remained deal-heavy and offered little to no customer service, Spire is designed to be customer-friendly as well.
Spire stands out for two reasons. One, it offers customers the Best Deal Guarantee. Spire promises customers a 30 percent lower rate on its deals than is available anywhere else. If by chance the 30 percent guarantee does not hold, Spire will provide travel credit of $100 to the customer. Second, while other flash sale travel sites have a no-cancellation policy, Spire allows customers to cancel within a 72-hour window.
Spire’s connection with PerfectEscapes ensured that the young firm gets a starting base of 550,000 customers. Most of these clients are the high-end variety. They pay about $265 per night during a luxury trip. But Spire wants to reach out to younger customers with lower spending power as well. Being in a cluttered space with 10 other similar sites is a problem. But Spire’s customer-friendly format could make all the difference.
Via: Tnooz.com
