Atlas turns its customers into investors by giving them an opportunity to invest in the same homes they book
AUSTIN, Texas, Oct. 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — Today, Wander announced the launch of Atlas, the industry’s first vacation home rental real estate investment trust (REIT). Atlas transforms Wander’s customers into partial property owners by enabling them to own a piece of the inspiring network of homes.
Wander will leverage Atlas to expand its network of smart vacation homes from coast-to-coast so it can more than double the number of rentals by early 2023, positioning Wander properties within a 3-hour drive of 80% of the U.S. population.
With Atlas, both retail and institutional investors are able to tap into Wander’s valuable real estate portfolio in an accessible and scalable way. Luxury short-term rental homes offer attractive fundamentals, including regularly generated revenue from guest bookings coupled with the stability and appreciation profile of single-family homes. Atlas investors will have the potential to earn high yield-passive income with an 8% targeted annual dividend, deposited every single month, as well as sharing in any appreciation of the homes in the event of a sale.
Atlas comes at a time when investors are increasingly looking to diversify their portfolio after continued public market losses throughout 2022. While demand to invest in single-family homes remains high, due its stability and appreciation, the soaring interest rates have made the asset class increasingly out of reach for many investors.
“Atlas provides a truly unique, and hopefully valuable, investment opportunity – and especially amid a particularly tumultuous moment in global markets. It unlocks an accessible format for real estate investing and a desirable asset class that has historically been plagued with high barriers to entry,” said John Andrew Entwistle, Founder and CEO at Wander. “As investors continue to pursue greater portfolio diversification, we think there’s something very special about being able to invest in assets that investors can actually enjoy directly by booking the properties on Wander. Interest in domestic U.S. travel continues to compound, and we’re committed to meeting the demand by scaling our portfolio of vacation homes to incredible new coast-to-coast destinations.”
Wander was founded in May of 2021 with the mission of building the travel experience of the future that reflects new consumer behaviors where people increasingly blend travel, family time, work and play in one experience. Wander stands out in the fast-growing travel services space by vertically integrating and owning 100% of the homes on the platform, which is essential to providing uncompromising high quality, smart technology, and a wide range of unique, inspiring locations for every guest experience.
Across 500+ bookings since launching in early 2022, Wander has a 94.6% customer satisfaction rate amongst customers, who highlight “consistency, quality and excellent service” as top reasons for choosing Wander over traditional travel options. Through the Wander app, consumers can book a smart vacation home with inspiring views, modern workstations, restful beds, hotel-grade cleaning and 24/7 concierge services to have full home control at their fingertips –– from opening the door, to turning on the lights, adjusting the temperature and accessing a Tesla in the garage.
Wander currently owns properties coast-to-coast in incredible locations like Vail,Tahoe, Joshua Tree, Asheville, Hudson Valley and coastal properties in California, Florida, Oregon and South Carolina, some of which will end up as part of Atlas. Wander plans to more than double its number of rental properties by early 2023, expanding to new high-demand beachfront, mountain, lakefront and desert destinations.
Chuckie Reddy, Partner at QED Capital, who led Wander’s series A said, “Wander Atlas has the potential to transform property ownership as we know it. It bypasses traditional means of capital raising with a direct opportunity for the Wander community to own and earn from the very properties they’ve come to love staying in.”
Fellow board member Alex Bard from Redpoint Ventures added, “magical things happen when users are transformed into owners. The introduction of ownership unlocks both strong returns and greater affinity for the Wander experience. In tandem, Wander unlocks location expansion, which results in more growth and opportunities for people to enjoy the travel experience of the future.”
Wander Atlas is currently only available to accredited investors who can request access at wander.com/atlas and investor slots are limited. Questions can be directed to [email protected].
About Wander:
Wander is a network of smart vacation homes in inspiring places that you can control from your phone. Every Wander comes with inspiring views, modern workstations, restful beds, hotel-grade cleaning and 24/7 concierge service. It’s a vacation home, but better. Wander has raised $30M+ in funding from QED Investors, Redpoint Ventures, Authentic Ventures, Susa Ventures, Kevin Durant, Packy McCormick, Sahil Bloom, Todd & Rahul’s Angel Fund and many more top angels and operators to build the travel experience of the future. Learn more at wander.com.
Contact:
Kyle Tibbitts
Chief Marketing Officer
[email protected]
SOURCE Wander
