Denver-based luxury vacation travel company Inspirato from a Bay Area private equity firm in its bid to engineer a turnaround. One Planet Group LLC, founded by tech entrepreneur and investor Payam Zamani, agreed to invest $10 million in return for 2.9 million shares of common stock and a similar number of warrants.
Zamani will take over as and replace Brad Handler as chairman, a role Handler has held since he founded the company with his brother Brent in 2010. Zamani will appoint three new directors to the seven-member board. To cut $25 million a year in costs, the company said it would eliminate 15% of its workforce immediately and rework or terminate its unproductive vacation property leases.
The company, headquartered at 1544 Wazee St., has about 630 employees, which equates to about 95 employees being let go. “While the decision to reduce our workforce was not easy, I’m grateful for the hard work and dedication of the entire team and am confident that under Payam Zamani’s leadership, Inspirato will continue to provide a world-class travel experience to its members for years to come,” David Kallery, president of Inspirato, said in a news release.
Inspirato offers members access to luxury vacation homes, stays at luxury hotels and resorts and custom-designed itineraries, like safaris. After years of rapid growth, the company has struggled to maintain its membership base and the current round of layoffs is the company’s third in two years. Brent Handler stepped dow.