China’s HNA Invested $28 Million to Start a U.S. Online Travel Agency and Abruptly Closed It
Photo Credit: Janbala, an online travel agency backed by HNA Group, posted this photo on Facebook around Memorial Day 2016. Janbala
Skift Take
HNA Group tried to enter the U.S. online travel agency market through Travana/Janbala and abruptly had a change of heart either because the startup didn't know what it was doing or because of some other dynamic in the opaque world of Chinese investors. Consider this a slight bump in the road.
The U.S. online travel agency sector has been waiting for Chinese investors to begin throwing their money around stateside, as they have in the hotel industry, and China's HNA Group indeed dipped its toes in the water in late 2015 but abruptly shut down the company it invested in a month ago.
HNA Group was the majority shareholder of San Francisco-based online travel agency startup Travana, which is now the subject of an involuntary bankruptcy petition [embedded below] filed by creditors last month in the city. Petitioning creditors, including some former employees, are seeking to collect on claims of some $870,000 but there are other alleged liabilities, including $24 million for the nine years remaining of a $225,000 monthly lease at Travana's now-vacated offices in San Francisco, according to the petition.
Meanwhile, New York-based Fareportal, which operates the CheapOair brand, has filed several lawsuits against Travana and former Fareportal employees who went to work at the
