Dear Friends,
Spring is finally in the air. So happy for all of my NYC friends & family to finally get through the winter.
This quarter, we’re excited to highlight a partnership at the center of a broader shift across hospitality, travel, and commerce: the newly launched relationship between Forbes Travel Guide and Bilt.
I’ve had the privilege of being involved with Forbes Travel Guide since 2011 as an investor and board member, and as shared previously in Axcess Granted, I’ve also been fortunate to serve as a senior advisor to Ankur Jain and the leadership team at Bilt. This partnership is especially meaningful as it reflects not just a collaboration between two brands, but the early stages of a much larger vision coming to life.
Together, the two companies have introduced Bilt Verified, connecting Forbes Travel Guide’s Star-Rated hotels with Bilt’s rapidly growing member base. It’s a natural extension of Bilt’s expansion into hospitality and travel, while creating a powerful new channel for trusted luxury hotels to reach a highly engaged audience. We were proud to help conceive and facilitate this partnership alongside both teams.
We’re also pleased to continue our work with Sentient Jet, a partnership that now spans more than 15 years. Since 2009, we’ve worked closely with the Sentient team to build one of the most consistent and differentiated luxury partnership programs in private aviation, and we’re excited to share this year’s latest edition of the Exclusive Benefits Guide in Featured Work below.
On a more personal note, we lost a very special family member and dear friend in March: Ed Peskowitz.
I first met Ed, along with Bruce Levenson and Todd Foreman, during my Atlanta Hawks days, when they invited me into the ownership group in 2013. What followed was an extraordinary friendship and brotherhood with Ed, along with the privilege of working closely together across a number of meaningful investments.
That included being by his side every step of the way on his LP investment in the Philadelphia Eagles, a journey that felt especially meaningful, and one we were fortunate to complete ahead of last year’s Super Bowl win.
Ed was a remarkable human being: thoughtful, irresponsibly generous, beyond philanthropic, understated, and deeply impactful. He made the world better in his own quiet and humble way. He will be greatly missed by those who were fortunate to know him.
As always, we welcome the opportunity to collaborate across any of the brands highlighted here, or within the broader Axcess family.
Warmly,
Kirk and the Axcess Team
AXW Featured Work
Sentient Jet Benefits Guide
Axcess Produces the Guide for the 13th Consecutive Year
Axcess is proud to continue its longstanding partnership with Sentient Jet, the global leader in private aviation, as the exclusive curator of the 2026 Sentient Jet Benefits Guide, now in its 13th year.
For more than a decade, Axcess has worked alongside the Sentient team to curate a best-in-class portfolio of luxury travel, lifestyle, and hospitality partners. The 2026 edition features 50+ partners, including new additions such as Ambergris Cay, Casa de Campo, The Lodge at Blue Sky, and Hotel Bardo.
Collectively, the guide delivers exclusive value to Sentient Jet’s 7,000+ Card Owners, spanning luxury stays, curated experiences, dining, and premium retail. It has become a core extension of the Sentient Jet experience, enhancing membership while reinforcing Sentient’s position at the center of the luxury travel ecosystem.
Axcess leads partner curation, strategy, and design, ensuring the program is fully activated across Sentient’s digital platforms and member communications. Creative development is led in partnership with Creature, Axcess’s creative partner and a brand and experience design studio behind many of our clients’ most notable work.
What began as a partnership in 2009 has evolved into one of the most enduring relationships in the Axcess ecosystem, with the Benefits Guide now in its 13th year.
Forbes Travel Guide and Bilt launch Bilt Verified
Monaco — Feb. 26, 2026 — Forbes Travel Guide, the only independent, global rating system for luxury hotels, restaurants, spas and ocean cruises, and Bilt, the membership for where you live, announced a strategic partnership today at the Forbes Travel Guide Summit in Monaco. The partnership introduces Bilt Verified: a new marketplace that combines Forbes Travel Guide (FTG) trusted Star Ratings with Bilt’s AI-powered concierge to create trusted connections between millions of active Bilt Member households and the world’s best hotels.
Forbes Travel Guide independently rates the finest hotels in more than 100 countries, serving as the gold standard for luxury hospitality. Bilt connects a rapidly growing base of members in more than 5.5 million U.S. homes with premium travel, dining, fitness, and lifestyle experiences. Together, Forbes Travel Guide and Bilt are partnering to create a scalable and trusted pathway for travelers to discover, book, and stay at Forbes Travel Guide Star-Rated properties worldwide. (See press release)
AXW Family Members in the News
Power Players: FIFA World Cup 2026 — The Rock-It Company
Daniel Rosenthal, President and Chief Executive Officer, The Rock-It Company
As FIFA’s official logistics provider, The Rock-It Company’s Rock-It Cargo will ensure that the equipment needed to stage the largest World Cup ever arrives wherever it is needed throughout the tournament. President and CEO Daniel Rosenthal is overseeing that effort, working closely with FIFA, the 48 participating member federations and the organization’s corporate partners. The firm estimates it will deploy more than 5,000 trucks and vehicles and utilize roughly 1 million square feet of warehouse space to move and store more than 1 million pounds of equipment across the three host countries. (Read More)
MadaLuxe Group Acquires Fine Jewelry Brand IPPOLITA, Adding to its Growing Portfolio of Luxury Brands
NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–MadaLuxe Group, the global luxury goods company, today announced it has acquired a majority stake in IPPOLITA, the New York-based fine jewelry house celebrated for its expressive design language artisanal, techniques, and international following. With this investment, MadaLuxe Group adds IPPOLITA to its expanding portfolio of luxury fashion and lifestyle brands spanning ready-to-wear, leather goods, footwear, accessories, timepieces, home, and spirits. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
“We are thrilled to welcome IPPOLITA into the MadaLuxe Group family,” said Adam Freede, CEO and Co-Founder of MadaLuxe Group. “IPPOLITA is an iconic brand with a rich artistic heritage, extraordinary customer loyalty, and a timeless visual vocabulary. We see significant opportunity to drive brand growth through strategic support and investment. Above all, we saw a great chance to add someone as talented as Ippolita to the MadaLuxe family, who views the importance of people and company culture the same way that we do.” (Read More)
NFL Partners with TMRW Sports and World-Class Investors and Athletes to Launch New Professional Flag Football League
Significant investment committed to fund the new league for women and men, backed by a broad and influential investor pool. Investors include NFL clubs, Pro Football Hall of Famers, current and former players, institutional capital and leaders from the sports and entertainment world
NEW YORK – March 30, 2026 – The NFL announced today that it is partnering with TMRW Sports to develop and operate a professional flag football league for women and men. The new professional league will launch with support from a broad and influential investor pool, including NFL clubs, established institutional and strategic investors, and current and former NFL players.
This initiative comes at a time of unprecedented global momentum for flag football, as the sport experiences rapid growth, expanding commercial interest, and increasing engagement from prospective investment, media, and sponsorship partners. This surge reflects the significant long‑term market opportunity surrounding flag football as it continues its transformation into a premier global sport. (Read More)
Bilt Hospitality is coming to restaurants near you
Earlier this year, we shared a simple idea with you: everything around where you live—your home, your neighborhood, your everyday experiences—should feel seamlessly connected.
We’re introducing Bilt Hospitality, a new platform for restaurants—built with some of the most iconic hospitality operators in the world—to help them deliver more personalized, seamless experiences for every guest (Watch Video)
Bloom Energy: Redefining data center power strategies in the AI era
AI-driven data center growth is accelerating, with campuses quickly scaling toward the gigawatt level. This rapid expansion is pushing existing grid infrastructure — and traditional electrical architectures — beyond their limits. As a result, power availability is increasingly the primary constraint shaping where, how and whether data center operators can develop new capacity.
Two trends are emerging as developers navigate these challenges, according to The 2026 Data Center Power Report, Bloom Energy’s survey of data center leaders, utilities, independent power producers and equipment providers.
First, hyperscalers, colocation providers and other developers are increasingly chasing power availability in new markets — reshaping the demand landscape and eroding market share in traditional hubs like California and Oregon.
Second, the report points to a growing willingness among developers to deploy dedicated onsite power when the interconnection queue or classic procurement process can’t meet the data center timelines. These shifts create significant opportunities for the utilities that can adapt to this new environment and meet AI data centers’ demand for fast time-to-power and scale. Those that can’t adjust will lose out on meaningful customer load growth when developers are forced to rely on their own generation rather than the grid. (Read More)