Offline experience businesses thrive in the AI age because people still want human connection

Even in an AI-driven era, Greg Isenberg believes people will pay a premium to do things with other people in physical spaces. His go-to example is Othership, a communal sauna club that started in Toronto. Members walk into a large, immersive sauna with music, cold plunge support, tea, and community — a fully leveled-up version of the traditional sauna experience. It's not cheap, but it sells memberships because it taps into two enduring trends: wellness and community. Agents can handle the admin side, but the room and the experience itself is what people are actually buying. Greg sees this category scaling, and points out that Othership itself started as a backyard experiment before the founder secured a proper venue — proof that you can validate the model cheaply before committing to expensive real estate.