Cabana, a Seattle-based startup that rented high-tech camper vans to give travelers a “hotel-on-wheels” experience, has suspended operations and begun a sale process, CEO and founder Scott Kubly announced on LinkedIn.
Founded in 2019, Cabana was named a PhocusWire Hot 25 Startup for 2022 and raised $3 million in a funding round as recently as December 2022. It raised $10 million in a Series A round in 2021.
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Yet the company ceased rental operations in November, Kubly wrote, unable to overcome setbacks like a semiconductor shortage that limited vehicle production, rising inflation, interest rate spikes and a sharp drop in venture capital deployment.
“Ultimately, it was a series of macroeconomic events that felt like a black swan event hitting every nine to 12 months,” Kubly said in the note that also thanked his family, employees and investors.
At its height, the company had more than 70 vans in five markets and served 4,000 guests over 20,000 nights, he said. “At the end of the day, I am really proud of what we built, and I wouldn’t trade the experience.”
Just five months ago Cabana announced its plans to expand into San Diego, Bozeman, Sacramento, Portland, Boise, Salt Lake City, Las Vegas, Phoenix, Denver and Albuquerque in 2024.