Selina Nabs Remote Year in Bet on Subscription Travel for Digital Nomads
Skift Take
This deal between the lodging brand and the co-working program could not have come at a better time. Selina has the real estate that Remote Year needed to be cost-effective, and Remote Year has the digital nomads Selina could use to drive its growth.
Hotel startup Selina said Monday it had acquired the brand and customer base of Remote Year. The pandemic has knocked both businesses sideways. But the deal offers Selina a new path to a promising segment of demand for its hotels and hostels in 19 countries that already include co-working facilities.
The companies didn't disclose the terms of the all-stock transaction. Remote Year, a Chicago-based program that lets employees work in a different global city every month, raised $5 million in funding last year and $17 million since its founding in 2015. The pandemic led Remote Year to pause its operations in mid-March, when it laid off about 50 people, or the majority of its staff.
Selina, a Panama-based company that provides travelers with co-working spaces, hostel-style lodging, and activities, promised to fulfill any outstanding commitments Remote Year had made to its cu
