Every week, we bring you the top stories and analyses from the global Subscription Economy.

Inspirato CEO Predicts Subscription Model Will Spur Followers in Luxury Travel

Excerpts from an article by Laura Powell in Skift. 

There are subscription businesses for everything from entertainment to clothing. Why not for travel?

That was the mindset of Brent Handler, founder and CEO of Inspirato, which has been renting out luxury vacation homes to affluent travelers for nearly a decade.

This summer, Inspirato introduced an all-you-can-travel subscription membership, separate from its original product. The Inspirato Pass costs $2,500 a month. Subscribers must sign up for a minimum of six months. It’s a first of its kind, not only for the travel industry, but for the luxury sector writ large, Handler said at the Skift Global Forum last week.

Right now, there are 850 subscribers, and Handler said he is aiming for 2,500 by the end of the year. Since the pass just launched in July, it’s too early to predict the churn rate. He called the Inspirato Pass the most expensive subscription model on the market. Its success or failure may inspire other luxury products to follow the lead. By a similar token, Handler said he wouldn’t be surprised if the Inspirato Pass model inspires other travel companies to add a subscription component to their suite of offerings.

For more, read the full article on Skift. And learn how Zuora helps Inspirato grow its subscription business here.

NBCUniversal Introduces Peacock, Its New Streaming Service

Excerpts from an article by Nicole Sperling inThe New York Times

When NBC’s Peacock makes its debut in April, it will join the growing list of new streaming services, including Apple TV Plus (Nov. 1), Disney Plus (Nov. 12) and HBO Max, which is also to start in April. These platforms will enter an increasingly competitive arena that already includes the established services Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Prime.

To compete, Peacock intends to have 15,000 hours of content from its vast library available on both its ad-supported and subscription-based services. Highlights will include complete seasons of “Parks and Recreation,” “Brooklyn Nine-Nine,” “Cheers,” “Downton Abbey,” “Everybody Loves Raymond,” “Friday Night Lights” and “Frasier.”

In June, NBCUniversal paid a $500 million to regain the rights to “The Office,” according to a person familiar with the deal who spoke on condition of anonymity because the terms were not public. The show will become available on Peacock in 2020.

Read the full article in the NYT

Walgreens to test drone delivery service with Alphabet’s Wing

Excerpts from an article by jasmine Wu in CNBC

Walgreens is testing a new on-demand delivery service with Alphabet’s drone delivery service Wing, beginning next month, the companies announced Thursday.

The pilot program will deliver food and beverage, over-the-counter medications and other items within minutes, Walgreens said. Prescription deliveries will not be available.

“Walgreens continues to explore partnerships to transform and modernize our customer experience and we are proud to be the first retailer in the U.S. to offer an on-demand commercial drone delivery option with Wing,” said chief innovation officer Vish Sankaran. He said the company wants to provide customers the products they “need wherever, whenever and however they may want them.”

Read the full article in CNBC

And for more Subscription Economy resources and events, head to www.subscribed.com.