Jo

A Letter from our Founder @MCWaslen DayAway is so proud of Raffles Hotel Singapore for placing 17th on the inaugural list of World's 50 Best Hotels unveiled last week. 🏆 Congratulations to the very deserving team that operates Singapore's Grand Dame each and every day, and from the bottom of my heart... thank you. Working with @RafflesHotelSIN has been a true privilege. To say that DayAway wouldn’t exist today without the support and partnership of this magnificent hotel, would be an understatement. Not just because they’re such a high performing partner, but because they have believed in us at DayAway from day one. This is how DayAway came to be because of one of the best hotels in the world. When DayAway was nothing more than an interesting idea and a deck, a dear friend (and role model) of mine, Serena Wong, offered to gather a group of friends for me to pitch to and share feedback. I had made pitches before, but this would be my first time pitching an idea to the world that was...gulp...mine. The meeting took place in late November 2020 in an intimidating board room that would ultimately prepare me for many nerve-racking pitches to come. People were sitting one chair apart (socially distanced) and filled up the entire conference table while I stood and presented. Palms sweating, heart racing. In the room on that day was Limin Cheng, Director of Revenue and Raffles Service at Raffles Hotel. I was shocked when I found out this is who I was pitching to - I wasn’t ready to present in front of the best hotel in the world (Raffles will always be #1 in my book). And after the pitch, Limin was fair, but brutally honest with me. There were flaws in the model. It was clear I didn’t have hotel experience, but the idea did have some merit. She took the time to explain the operational challenges hotels were facing in the wake of Covid, and how DayAway could potentially help. She didn’t judge or dismiss me for being an "industry outsider” but gave me the time, feedback and encouragement I needed to turn DayAway into a real product. Without her, I don’t know if I would have pursued the idea one step beyond that boardroom. A few months later, Raffles would be the first hotel to launch on DayAway - and bookings came in like crazy! When our community discovered ways to spend more time at the crown jewel of Singapore, they couldn’t get enough. Half a million visits to the site in the first few months of our launch and hundreds of bookings. We couldn’t believe it. And it didn't stop there: Raffles kept coming up with new, innovative experiences to try on the marketplace. They saw DayAway as a way to engage the local community and learn more about what experiences people wanted to have beyond the room. The hotel didn’t judge us for being a tech startup in our infancy, they treated us like a real partner from the very first day they used the DayAway platform - just like Limin didn’t judge me. She, and Raffles, saw an opportunity for innovation and a tool at their disposal to develop new ways to surprise and delight their guests. And THAT is why they are the best hotel in the world to me. They are the type of player that advances an entire industry - always listening with an open mind, learning and pursuing perfection. In some ways, I think the experiences at Raffles saved many of us in those difficult months of Covid. When we couldn’t travel to see our friends and loved ones, they brought us the perfect escape when we needed it most. And though travel is back, we at DayAway believe these unique experiences continue to be just as meaningful as a once-in-a lifetime trip. And how lucky am I to know such incredible, supportive women who have helped me, and DayAway, every step of the way?! Building a startup is not easy, but to know supportive women like Serena and Limin, and to work with Raffles Hotel and my amazing team every day, has been the honor of a lifetime. And for that, I am truly grateful. Martha Waslen Founder & CEO