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business Tuesday 26 april 2022
Subscriptions are coming to travel, should you get on board?

By SAM KEMMIS of Nerd- able for remote-working
Wallet nomads looking to travel as
Subscriptions have seeped much as possible.
into nearly every consumer Yet Inspirato's subscription,
industry, from TV to tacos. too, comes with a long list
There are even services of caveats and exceptions.
that help subscribers can- Pass holders may book just
cel all their subscriptions. one trip at a time, book-
But one industry has nota- ings are on a first-come,
bly lagged: travel. first-served basis and many
That could be changing. rooms and homes are
The market for travel sub- available only during off-
scriptions has started to ex- peak seasons.
pand and includes cheap Less spendy digital nomads
flights, airport lounges, lux- can choose Selina, a co-
ury accommodations and living and coworking sub-
high-end credit cards. scription service that com-
"Subscription models can bines the cost of accom-
add a lot of predictabil- modation, office space
ity to an industry that can and dependable Wi-Fi into
be very spiky," says Amy one monthly bill. Subscrib-
Konary, vice president at ers can bounce between
the Subscribed Institute by The first Alaska Airlines passenger flight on a Boeing 737-9 Max airplane takes off, Monday, March Selina's global destinations
Zuora, a think tank focused 1, 2021, on a flight to San Diego from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport in Seattle. and take advantage of
on the subscription econo- Associated Press surfing lessons, yoga classes
my . and other wellness activi-
Travel purchases tend to be $49 per month, subscrib- way.'" And Alaska focused on ties.
one-off and transactional. ers can book one round- Instead of trying to be ev- the lowest-cost entry point These services offer one
Airline and hotel loyalty trip main cabin flight every erything for every traveler, possible, starting at $49 per benefit to potential cus-
programs aim to promote two months for one penny Alaska's subscription has month to make a flight sub- tomers that is difficult to
loyalty and benefits, but plus about $15 in fees. The focused on a narrow niche: scription seem feasible to quantify: simplicity. Rather
only those travelers who catch? The flights must be younger Californians with almost anyone. than searching through
travel (and pay) a lot can direct, booked within a lim- plenty of wanderlust and "We wanted to compete hundreds of vacation rent-
reap the rewards. Subscrip- ited time frame and, most schedule flexibility. So far, with an Uber ride or a bar al listings, subscribers can
tions could turn this con- importantly, fly between just under half of subscrib- tab," Corey says. make one payment per
cept on its head by offering particular airports in Califor- ers are millennials or Gen- CATERING TO NOMADS month and choose from a
these benefits upfront. nia, Nevada and Arizona. eration Zers, according to On the other side of the range of vetted options.
"The subscription model lets Confused? Alaska. price spectrum, the luxury Yet simplicity alone won't
you get access to those "Communication has been It's a niche product, to be travel platform Inspirato of- cut it, Konary says. Con-
premium perks by paying the big challenge," says sure, but Alaska is confi- fers a subscription service sumers are wary of adding
directly," Konary says. Alex Corey , managing dent that it can appeal to for vacation rentals and another monthly bill to their
Will customers take to this director of business devel- a particular kind of West high-end hotels starting at long list of active subscrip-
idea? Travel brands are opment and products at Coast traveler. $2,500 per month . tions and need to know
rushing to find out. Alaska Airlines. "It's been "Californians travel 3.5 That's $30,000 per year for they're getting a good
SUBSCRIPTIONS TAKE OFF hard for people to appre- times more within their the opportunity to book deal.
Alaska Airlines dipped a ciate that this might not be own state than residents of high-end accommoda- "As we've become more
toe into the subscription designed for them. If I went other states do," says Co- tions around the world. That familiar with these mod-
waters in March with the to my favorite store and it rey, explaining why the air- might seem like a huge bill els, we have a high bar for
launch of its " Flight Pass." didn't meet my needs, I'd line chose the state as the for a vacation budget, but what we expect in terms of
For a price that starts at be like, 'Hey, make this this proving ground for its idea. it's potentially more reason- value," Konary says.q
GM to offer electrified Corvette as early as next year

By MICHELLE CHAPMAN date. Interest in electric ve- use GM's next-generation
AP Business Writer hicles is increasing among Ultium battery technology.
General Motors says it will consumers as demand for The vehicles, which will in-
offer an electrified Chevro- an electric Corvette has clude a compact Chevro-
let Corvette as early as next been building among the let Equinox SUV that will sell
year. sports car's fan base. for around $30,000. It's ex-
President Mark Reuss said Last August President Joe pected to go sale in North
in a statement on LinkedIn Biden even discussed how America next year.
Monday that the automak- he'd had a conversation In January GM said that it
er will also sell a fully elec- with General Motors CEO plans to spend nearly $7 bil-
tric Corvette sometime in Mary Barra about want- lion to convert a factory to
the future. ing to test drive an electric make electric pickup trucks
An electrified vehicle Corvette once it is built. and to build a new battery
generally means a gas- Earlier this month GM and cell plant. This is a the logo on the rear of a 2016 Corvette on display at the
electric hybrid or a plug-in Honda announced that GM has set a goal of build- Pittsburgh International Auto Show in Pittsburgh, Feb. 11, 2016.
rechargeable hybrid, but they are planning to co- ing only electric passen- Associated Press
more details on the vehi- develop some affordable ger vehicles by 2035. It has
cles are expected at a later electric vehicles that will pledged to have 30 elec- tric vehicle models for sale globally by 2025.q