Latest news with #DartInterests
Skift
29-07-2025
- Business
- Skift
Blending Hotels and Rentals: Dart's Bet for Group Travel at Scale
Skift Podcast Compelling discussions with travel industry leaders and creatives who are helping to shape the future of travel. Compelling discussions with travel industry leaders and creatives who are helping to shape the future of travel. Learn More As the line between short-term rentals and hotels continues to blur, Dart Interests is betting that the next generation of resorts won't choose sides. In a new episode of the Skift Travel Podcast, Skift CEO Rafat Ali sat down with Dart President Chris Kelsey to explore the company's $2.5 billion flagship project—Evermore Orlando—and a bold vision for hybrid, group-first hospitality. Located next to Walt Disney World, Evermore is different than many other resorts in the market: a master-planned destination that combines luxury vacation homes with traditional hotel rooms, all managed under one umbrella and anchored by a 433-room Conrad. The idea, according to Kelsey, is to solve the pain points of both legacy hotels and short-term rentals while meeting the needs of modern families and multigenerational travelers. 'We didn't want to retrofit homes into hospitality,' Kelsey said. 'We designed everything from the ground up for this exact use case—groups, gatherings, and consistent hotel-level service.' Listen to This Podcast Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube | RSS Bridging the Gap Between Hotels and Rentals At the core of Evermore's model is what Kelsey calls 'residential hospitality.' Unlike Airbnb or Vrbo, none of the homes are privately owned or inconsistently managed. All units—from 2-bedroom flats to 11-bedroom homes—are owned, operated, and serviced by Dart Interests, offering the scale of vacation rentals with the standards and loyalty benefits of a hotel. That alignment with Hilton Honors is a key differentiator. Evermore is the first property where Hilton has integrated non-traditional units—like villas and vacation homes—into its global loyalty ecosystem. 'You can now book an 8-bedroom house with Hilton points,' Kelsey said. 'That's transformational, not just for us, but for travelers who are looking for more space without giving up quality or perks.' An 'Anti-Theme Park' Philosophy While Evermore sits next to one of the busiest tourist corridors in the U.S., Dart intentionally designed it as a counterpoint to the high-energy, high-saturation theme park experience. 'Everything in Orlando goes fast, flashes lights, or tries to entertain you,' Kelsey said. 'We wanted the opposite—calm, open spaces, human-scale architecture, and intentional landscaping that helps people decompress.' That focus has helped Evermore attract not only park-goers but also destination weddings, reunions, and corporate retreats. The crown jewel is an eight-acre crystalline lagoon that serves as both centerpiece and recreational hub, surrounded by event venues, cabanas, and casual dining. Rethinking Food, Labor, and Landscape Dart Interests is also challenging conventional resort operations. After encountering difficulties running 13 food and beverage outlets in-house, the company partnered with Chicago-based Lettuce Entertain You to bring culinary expertise and brand consistency to the portfolio. Landscaping and maintenance have also been rethought from scratch. With more than 1,000 acres under management, Dart has internalized many traditionally outsourced services to ensure long-term quality and cost control. And on the labor side, Kelsey emphasized Dart's investment in building a stable, full-time workforce rather than relying on contractors or gig labor. 'Hospitality isn't just about the physical product—it's the people delivering the experience every day,' he said. Building for the Long Game Unlike many resort developers chasing yield and flipping assets, Dart is taking a long-term ownership view. Kelsey says the firm's privately held structure allows it to prioritize brand equity, operational resilience, and guest satisfaction over short-term gains. 'What we're building with Evermore is not meant to be sold in five years,' he said. 'It's a forever asset—and that changes how you design, staff, and operate.' Looking ahead, Dart is exploring expansion into mountain, lake, and coastal markets, using the Evermore playbook to serve group and family travelers often underserved by traditional hotels or vacation homes. But Kelsey is clear: this isn't about scaling fast. It's about scaling right. 'We don't want to copy and paste Evermore,' he said. 'We want each location to feel grounded, local, and thoughtfully built for how people actually travel—and stay—today.'
Business Wire
01-07-2025
- Business
- Business Wire
Net Conversion Launches AI-Driven Enhancements to 'Conversionomics' MarTech
ORLANDO, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Net Conversion, a leading media agency known for its data-driven approach and commitment to client success, today announces significant new AI-powered features within Conversionomics, its proprietary MarTech platform that fuels media & analytics strategy for their client partners. 'We're intrigued by the evolution of the Conversionomics platform as it represents a real departure from standard practices & transactional limitations that are often associated with media today.' Mandy Penn, VP Marketing, Evermore Orlando (Dart Interests) Share Launched in 2008 as a robust data management platform, Conversionomics has long been the backbone of Net Conversion's ability to unlock powerful analytics and provide unparalleled performance transparency. The platform's architecture, capable of ingesting data from over 80 APIs, executing complex transformations, and automating data exports, now evolves to meet the escalating demands of modern marketing. 'We are constantly looking for innovative and efficient ways to ensure our media investments return the best possible value,' comments Mandy Penn, VP of Marketing at Evermore Orlando (Dart Interests). 'We are intrigued by the evolution of the Conversionomics platform as it represents a real departure from the standard practices and transactional limitations that are often associated with media today.' The new AI-driven enhancements address critical challenges faced by today's marketers, including the need to efficiently analyze vast datasets with limited resources, navigate intricate and fragmented consumer journeys, and achieve comprehensive cross-platform measurement. This evolution builds upon Net Conversion's recent acquisition of Elevate the Outcome, a specialized performance TV agency, further bolstering full-funnel measurement capabilities. The expanded feature set transforms Conversionomics from a data management hub into an AI-driven media enablement platform, making data more actionable and impactful for both Net Conversion analysts and their clients. These advancements are strategically aligned across three functional pillars: Insights: The newly launched AI Insights Agent proactively surfaces AI-generated alerts and key performance highlights directly to Net Conversion analysts via Google Workspace chat, email, or Google Sheets. This empowers them to identify performance shifts and optimization opportunities with unprecedented speed and efficiency. The goal is to have an AI-created junior analyst to support every human analyst. Measurement: Conversionomics now offers unified, platform-agnostic measurement across the increasingly crucial CTV and streaming audio landscapes, alongside automated Linear probabilistic measurement. This eliminates reliance on an aggregator or third-party tools, providing Net Conversion partners with direct and comprehensive visibility. Activation: Addressing the industry shift away from third-party cookies, Conversionomics enables secure first-party data transfer to partner media platforms for targeted audience activation and lookalike modeling. The platform also facilitates the implementation of Conversions API and Enhanced Conversions, importing offline data to media platforms for enhanced attribution accuracy. "At Net Conversion, we've always been analytics-first," says Brett Hughes, Chief Analytics Officer. 'The latest AI enhancements to Conversionomics, building on our acquisition of Elevate the Outcome, represent the natural evolution of a vision we started 16 years ago – to make data truly useful for driving performance. Our analysts now have unprecedented agility to surface actionable insights faster than ever, demonstrably intelligent and accountable media strategies." This evolution of Conversionomics underscores the technology's refreshed brand promise: More intelligent marketing, less guesswork. Conversionomics leverages AI to unlock data's potential, empowering marketers to achieve more. About Net Conversion We are passionate performance media pioneers. Our analytics-driven agency thrives on disruptive thinking to drive impact, not optics. Fueled by cutting-edge insights, we tap into what your customers want and connect them to your brand. We build holistic datasets through Conversionomics, our proprietary MarTech platform, to relentlessly hold paid media accountable. The result? Real-time peak performance and enduring business transformation. At our core, we're all about agility; enabling more innovation, a more personal touch, and more business impact.
