In a press release yesterday, 1871 member Options Away announced that it had raised $1.1 million in funding from local and international investors. The company allows customers to hold flights (and the fare price) while they finalize their travel plans. So if the customer chooses not to travel, then the order on hold simply expires without penalty.
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Rob Brown (CEO) and Heidi Brown (CMO)
When asked about how the company had realized this traction with investors, founder and CEO Rob Brown said, “We have a very clear and new revenue stream that adds extra money to the travel industry, which is a sizeable market.”
Phase one for Options Away was to launch the site last September and prove the concept. Now that this funding has come through, phase two includes scaling the business through strategic partnerships with the hundreds of brands that contribute to the booking of travel, from agencies to other companies -- anyone who could potentially be “powered by Options Away.” While the first obvious vertical for Options Away was airline booking, Brown indicated potential future benefits for hotel booking and rental car booking as well.
“We’re a disruptive product to the industry, but really we are helping everyone involved,” Brown said. “The agencies, consumers and the airlines all stand to benefit from Options Away, especially as we gather valuable data around consumer intent in the travel industry.”
The traction Options has seen is largely due to 1871, Brown said, which has been a great place for the company since the beginning with its workshops, office hours, and networking events (where they met one of their investors). As the team grows in size, they hope to expand with 1871 and have every intention of keeping Chicago their home, - while using their platform to escape the chilly weather every so often.
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