The travel industry has always felt ripe for disruption.
Air travel is expensive, uncomfortable, and often inefficient. You pay a lot of money in order to be able to pay more money to get a seat assignment and actually bring your luggage.
Related: Luxury travel brand files Chapter 7 bankruptcy, shuts down
In many cases, if you want a bottle of water or a Diet Coke, that costs extra too. It’s an industry filled with added on fees and very little choice for consumers.
Hotels have been an area where many companies think there’s room to disrupt the model. Airbnb might be the most famous example, but even that model is fairly flawed.
Yes, you may get much better accommodations than a typical hotel room. You could also end up in a property that looks absolutely nothing like the pictures posted on the website.
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Clearly, there needs to be options be beyond the typical hotel. In many cases, you book a hotel room and think you were paying one price only to arrive and learned that there are resort fees and extra parking charges.
As a consumer, there’s not much you can do to fight this, so many accept it as an ugly part of travel. There are, however, companies trying to find a better way, and one of those, has found itself out of money and forced to file for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy protection.
The classic hotel model often comes with extra fees.
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Hotel alternative hits a brick wall
It’s easy to share how travel needs to be disrupted and much harder to do it. Roami wanted to be a disruptor, but it doesn’t even do a very job explaining its business in its About Us:
“Roami is the future of urban group travel, offering cool spaces and accommodations meant to provide the most memorable experiences for modern Roamers. Each of our spaces is purposefully designed to inspire connection and create a transformative vacation, where guests create memories that will stay with them long after they leave,” the company shared.
Retail closings:
Popular retail chain to close unprofitable store locationsBankrupt retail chain unloads store leases, key assetPopular discount retailer files bankruptcy, closes all stores
In theory, the company is offering a hotel alternative?
“Founded in 2016, Roami was born from CEO Andreas King-Geovanis’ belief that travelers should not be forced to choose between two flawed options: cramped and expensive hotel rooms or inconsistent and unpredictable vacation rentals. By managing the entire building – not just a few floors or units – Roami provides a memorable stay without compromise,” it added.
That seems an awful lot like a hotel, but the company sees it self as an alternative.
Roami files Chapter 11 bankruptcy
Roami operates properties in Miami and New Orleans.
The company’s operator, Sextant Stays, Inc. (dba Roami), a Miami, FL-based short-term rental and hospitality company, filed for Chapter 11 protection on May 27 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Florida. Roami reported $5 million in assets and $15.9 million in liabilities.
The bankruptcy filing indicates that there will be funds available for distribution to unsecured creditors.
Roami is still taking reservations.
“While specific causes for the bankruptcy filing were not detailed in the petition, the company’s significant debt to landlords and service providers suggests operational challenges in the competitive short-term rental market. The company has retained Edelboim Lieberman PLLC as bankruptcy counsel, along with Tarter Krinsky & Drogin LLP and Sher Garner Cahill Richter Klein & Hilbert, LLC as additional legal counsel, RK Consultants reported.
Popular bankrupt retail chain prepares to close all 96 stores
Related: Popular bankrupt retail chain prepares to close all 96 stores
Roami does not mention its Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing on its Facebook or Instagram pages. The company’s LinkedIn page still shows open jobs.
Sextant Stays rebranded the company as Roami in March 2023. At the time, the company had taken in a new $14 million as part of its Series A funding round bringing the brand’s total funding to $29 million.
