Camo Hospitality Inc., an Irvine hospitality-focused technology firm founded by a California State University, Fullerton alum, has debuted a new hotel dining concept and room service platform at the Desert Palms Hotel and Suite in Anaheim, which is a stone’s throw away from the Disneyland Resort.
“For decades, so many hotels have been unable to evolve and innovate their dining experiences at the rates guests expect,” founder and CEO Kevin Rohani said in a statement. “What we’ve created with Camo is an enhanced version of traditional third-party delivery platforms like Uber Eats catered specifically to hotels and their guests’ experience.”
The dining concept, dubbed the Oasis Food Hall, offers more than nine different restaurant brands, including Chinese-inspired Rice, Meet Noodle; flatbread pizza maker Camo Pizza Co.; fried chicken shop Clucky Rooster and plant-based burger joint Flora Burgers.
Hotel guests can order in-person through a kiosk or get their meals delivered directly to their rooms via Camo’s platform, Camo Eats.
The platform does not charge any delivery or service fees and allows guests to purchase multiple meals for all of Camo’s brands are cooked in the Oasis Food Hall kitchen.
Feedback for Camo’s new concept and platform has been largely positive, according to company officials.
Camo is planning to add a second location in Anaheim in the next few months, as well as sites in Los Angeles and San Diego. The company is also eyeing markets outside of California to expand its footprint, such as Texas, Florida, New York and Washington, Rohani told the Business Journal.
CSUF alum Rohani founded Camo in 2020, after working as the head of development for lifestyle hotels at hospitality company Accor SA (OTC: ACCYY). He counts over a decade of experience in the hospitality industry, serving in operations and VP, development roles at companies such as Dream Hotel Group and architecture firm Gensler. Rohani is currently an advisory board member for entertainment and hospitality management at CSUF.
Anduril Co-Founder Develops
E-Reading VR Headset
Trae Stephens, co-founder of Costa Mesa high-tech defense contractor Anduril Industries Inc., has started a company that’s developing a VR headset for bookworms.
San Francisco-based Sol recently unveiled its Sol Reader at CES 2023. Sol Reader uses E-Ink displays, which can be found in Amazon Kindles.
E-Ink displays “are not really known for immersive or any fast refresh-rate content,” virtual and augmented reality device reviewer Brad Lynch said in a YouTube video on his demo of the Sol Reader.
That’s why when another Anduril co-founder Palmer Luckey reached out to Lynch about the Sol Reader’s use of E-Ink displays, “I thought he was joking at first,” Lynch said. Prior to Anduril, Luckey founded Oculus VR.
The Sol Reader, which weighs less than 100 grams and offers 30-hours of battery life on one charge, aims to let literature lovers lie down while having an “immersive” reading experience. Wearers can flip through an e-book’s pages using a small, handheld device.
The Sol Reader, which will be available for purchase this fall, is estimated to cost around $350.
Sol was started in 2021 by CEO Ben Chelf and Stephens, who’s also a partner at Founders Fund. Chelf previously founded software quality, testing and security tools company Coverity, which was acquired for approximately $334 million by electronic design automation company Synopsys Inc. (Nasdaq: SNPS). Chelf also founded media consulting company The Story Locker Inc. He currently serves as a venture partner for VC nonprofit Praxis, a founding partner for VC firm Elementum Ventures and as a board member for Christian university-focused nonprofit The Veritas Forum.
