DayAway is another Web2 business taking a delicate golden-sandaled step into Web3. They are launching their Founder’s Key NFTs – minting on January 12 – intended as an “exclusive membership and loyalty program that unlocks exclusive access to luxury experiences worldwide.”
Travel and NFTs have both been sluggish in 2022, though the Deloitte 2022 Travel Industry Outlook was cautiously optimistic. The report was clear that there was no expectation of travel reaching pre-pandemic levels. It stated:
“Travel’s green shoots have appeared, along with opportunities to encourage continued growth. Immediate imperatives include catering to the groups most ready to travel, and preparing for the next wave.”
Research and Markets “Non-Fungible Tokens: Global Market” report forecasts a steady rise over 5 years, with a 27.3% CAGR from 2022 to 2027. This represents a market increase from $37.6 billion to $125.6 billion.
DayAway provides curated luxury experiences – including elite experiences like stays in exclusive posh hotels, private sailing escapes, and tastings at Michelin-starred restaurants. Now they are expanding their offerings and offering them under a Founder’s Token NFT, which gives you lifetime access to purchase the special getaways DayAway offers at a discounted rate – a benefit that the holder has for life.
According to the press release, “the Founder’s Key is a collection of 500 limited-edition NFTs that will unlock a wide range of experiences and VIP benefits from hospitality, travel, retail, wellness and F&B brands worldwide. It represents the highest, most exclusive tier of DayAway’s membership and loyalty program.”
We spoke with Founder & CEO at DayAway, Martha Waslen, to learn more about how they are connecting the dots between digital ownership and curated luxury experiences.
Luxury items are thought to be somewhat recession-proof, but how have curated luxury travel experiences fared through this global financial crisis?
WASLEN: “What I’ve learned from my experience in luxury fashion, beauty, and now hospitality, is that even in the wake of a financial crisis, there will always be a market for luxury and ultra-luxury goods and experiences. People may buy fewer of them, but the luxury customer doesn’t tend to adjust their taste and preferences, or ‘buy down’ in a bear market. If anything, they are more discerning and selective in their purchases, but the expectation of quality service, personalization, and attention to detail is far greater.”
What makes DayAway founder's key distinct from other luxury-related membership NFTs?
WASLEN: “DayAway’s Founder’s Key NFT is the first and only NFT membership that gives immediate, exclusive access to a token-gated luxury and ultra-luxury experiences in-real-life. We are offering founder-level access to a range of luxury experiences and events with the world’s most iconic brands.
And unlike many NFT projects, you don’t have to wait for utility – Founder’s Key holders enjoy the value of their membership immediately and can keep enjoying that access for life or until the NFT is sold.
Another unique trait, is that DayAway Founder’s Key NFTs will come with a 90-day, buy-back guarantee for primary holders in an effort to 1) protect the integrity of our luxury brand partners and 2) ensure that we are growing a high-quality community of like minded-travel and experience enthusiasts. We are that confident about the pipeline of partnerships, benefits and value we can create with the Founder’s Keys.”
What are your plans to grow your network?
WASLEN: “DayAway plans to release at least one new NFT membership collection each year with a wide range of utilities including hotel and travel perks, dining privileges, and wellness benefits, as well as regional-specific NFT collections. Eventually, we hope to have tens of thousands of token holders trading utilities and memberships within our community.
As DayAway expands into more countries, adding more partners and benefits, all of the utility will automatically be available to our Founder’s Key holders, making it the highest tier of memberships in the DayAway ecosystem.”
Who are some of your luxury brand partners for these IRL Luxury experiences?
WASLEN: “We are so fortunate to partner with some of the most iconic brands in hospitality including Waldorf Astoria, Rosewood, Raffles, Hilton, and Preferred Hotels & Resorts, and we look forward to expanding our network into hospitality adjacent industries like yacht charters, helicopter operators, food and beverage, luxury retail, and beyond.”
Are your users typically Web3 native, or leisure and luxury fans?
WASLEN: “We expect to have a very balanced mix of both Web3 native token holders, and early adopters of our DayAway platform who are purchasing the Founder’s Key as their very first NFT. We have been so encouraged by the response we’ve received from the Web3 community expressing how fanatical they are about travel, IRL experiences and their loyalty programs. We are certainly happy to target both audiences, and hope to integrate our Web2 and Web3 members into one community over time.”
What are your plans for 2023?
WASLEN: “We plan to release a much larger collection of Genesis Keys in Q2 that will come with benefits similar to the Founder’s Key, but they will not receive complimentary NFTs from all future DayAway collections.
We also plan to release our first Bucket List NFT before the end of the year. The Bucket List will be a series of once-in-a-lifetime, money-can’t-buy experiences curated by the world’s most reputable brands that will be auctioned off as one-of-one NFTs. We also currently have a vast number of privileges on our token-gated platform and intend to multiply the offerings this year.”
Have you had to change your roadmap because of the bear market in digital assets?
WASLEN: “Building our membership and loyalty program on blockchain has been on our DayAway roadmap since we launched our Web2 platform in May 2021. It was just a question of when our Web2 luxury hospitality partners would be most receptive to the idea. Of course, the bear market has created some challenges, or perhaps delays, over the last several months, but we feel confident that what we’re building at DayAway, and our adoption of Web2 users buying an NFT for the first time, will help us overcome market volatility because our NFT holders will actually be using our NFT, and not just pegging its value to the hype.”
Conclusion
Waslen exudes the grace and charm that distinguish DayAway’s luxury experiences and makes a compelling case. Although there are plenty of NFT projects that provide vouchers, discounts, and exclusives for rock shows, festivals, and travel it seems possible that the curated experiences of these Founder’s NFTs will find their audience even in what seems to be a time of global economic hardship.
It’s good to see more NFT projects that are about utility first – and more Web2 businesses making a sensible transition into Web3. They are calling it a rewards program as well as effectively a lifetime membership, for as long as you hold the NFT. It opens the possibility that corporations and other hospitality businesses could consider using NFTs like DayAway’s as part of customer and employee incentive programs.
The Founder's Key will mint on Thursday January 12 on OpenSea. If you want your NFTs to lead you to a hitherto unrealized level of personal pampering – perhaps it’s the membership for you.
Cover image by Julius Silver from Pixabay