The IRL Experience Boom
Ben Winn@benwinn
+5.3%
since Oct 2
The idea
I believe spending keeps moving away from stuff and toward doing things together in person, so this basket owns the whole shift: fitness and wellness brands, travel and hospitality, concerts and venues, coffee shops and third spaces, corporate events, and the payment and booking rails that take a cut of it all. No single name dominates, allocations stay spread across six layers of the theme, and I keep a small cash buffer to add on dips. This is a ten-year view on a structural trend, not a bet on any one quarter.
What it owns
- Gyms and running culture are where the in-person habit shows up weekly, and these companies sell the membership and the uniform. · Life Time Group HoldingsIt turns the gym into a social destination with classes, events and cafes, capturing premium spending from people working out together., On HoldingIt sells shoes and gear to the run-club crowd, growing sales faster than the broader sneaker market as running stays a group activity people invest in., Planet FitnessIt offers affordable gym access everywhere, growing as more people make fitness a regular part of life through membership growth and new club openings., Lululemon AthleticaIt built its brand on classes, run clubs and community events, selling apparel tied to working out and gathering in person.20%
- Trips and stays are the biggest single line in experience spending, and these platforms and hotels capture it. · AirbnbIt books travel stays and experiences, making it a direct play on people spending to go places and do things instead of buying stuff., Booking HoldingsIt takes a cut of global travel bookings, so growth in trips tied to experiences flows straight to its revenue., Hilton WorldwideIt earns fees on rooms across thousands of hotels, collecting on both leisure trips and corporate conferences that drive occupancy and rates higher.18%
- Live shows keep selling out at rising prices, and these companies own the stages, the tickets and the events. · Live Nation EntertainmentIt owns the promotion, venues and ticketing across the concert industry, so it captures growth directly if attendance and ticket spending keep setting records., TKO Group HoldingsIts UFC and WWE events are appointment gatherings in person and on screens, with media companies paying more for rights to live action., Madison Square Garden EntertainmentIts venues like Madison Square Garden and Radio City fill up when concert and live event spending grows, driven by steady bookings and per-event revenue., Sphere EntertainmentIt operates a one-of-a-kind venue experience in Las Vegas, betting that people will travel specifically for distinctive in-person attractions.17%
- Coffee shops, arcades and bowling alleys are the everyday gathering spots that keep climbing. · StarbucksIt invented the coffee shop as a destination third space at scale, earning more as people sit in cafes instead of grabbing coffee to go., Dutch BrosIt opens hundreds of new coffee shops a year as a fast-growing brand, a direct play on coffee shops as daily social ritual., Dave & Buster's EntertainmentIt runs arcade and gaming venues where groups gather for food and entertainment, benefiting as people choose nights out together., Lucky Strike EntertainmentIt runs bowling alleys built for groups, parties and corporate events, growing as people spend more on nights out together.15%
- Businesses spending more on conferences, offsites and hosted dinners flows to convention hotels, caterers and trade shows. · Marriott InternationalIt leads in group and convention bookings, making it the big-cap way to own business spending on events, conferences and dinners., Ryman Hospitality PropertiesIt owns giant convention hotels built almost entirely for corporate gatherings, the most concentrated bet on business events spending., AramarkIt caters stadiums, conference centers and corporate events, earning more every time another dinner, game or conference happens.13%
- These toll-takers earn a cut of every booking, restaurant tab and event ticket no matter which venue wins. · VisaIt takes a small cut when people pay for tickets, trips, dinners and memberships, winning on spending volume across all experiences without picking winners., ToastIt runs the payments and software behind restaurants, cafes and venues where in-person spending flows through, taking a cut of every transaction.10%
- Cash8%