Remote Year Collapse: What We Know

Remote Year said it was closing after nearly a decade as a month-to-month work-and-travel services provider for digital nomads, as Skift reported Saturday. 

Over a dozen customers told Skift that they were affected, with several saying they've paid for upcoming trips and are afraid they won't get their money back.

Skift spoke to two executives, some people previously connected with the brand, and some current and past customers. Here's what we know so far.

Remote Year CEO

Tue Le, who had been the brand's CEO for two years, told Skift she's no longer CEO as Remote Year's leadership had resigned.

She said that four months ago, Collective Hospitality acquired Remote Year through the purchase of Selina’s majority of assets.

"It quickly became evident that they had no interest in supporting Remote Year’s operations," she said. "In the four months since the acquisition, we have not received funding, payroll, or operational support from Collective Hospitality."

"Therefore, the Remote Year team developed a clear plan for a third-party deal that would allow Remote Year a path to continue operating and growing," she said. "However, Collective Hospitality rejected the deal at the 11th hour, leaving us no viable options."

Remaining Remote Year staff, including those in every location with active December trips, "will officially conclude their employment by January 4."

Collective Hospitality CEO

Gary Murray, CEO of Collective Hospitality and Destination Group, which acquired many of Selina's assets in August, was asked by Skift at the time if Remote Year had passed along to his company.

"We take Remote Year and we're looking at how we can incorporate that in a deeper way to a lot of our products as well as our Selina products. I think that's a fabulous, a fabulous business."

When Skift asked Murray about this quote on Saturday, he said: "We never took the shares of this business as it was simply too toxic. It is still owned by Selina PLC, the company that went into liquidation."

Who Owns Remote Year?

Skift asked Tue Li if she could show a copy of legal proof of who the owner was and who had the bank account signatories.

Tue Li said: "I'm dismayed that he is doubling down on this false narrative."

"I’m unable to share any of my documentation as I have already shared this with my lawyers and they have advised me to start pursuing legal action. However, I can assure you that we’ve approached this matter with thoroughness and integrity and that I have evidence of the entities he purchased including the one that houses Remote Year. He also has a copy of this as it was forwarded to me following the transaction.

"I would also ask that you please ask him for documentation showing that he "did not take the shares."

If, in fact, Remote Year is still in receivership, there are additional questions.

"What has yet to be determined is why FTI, the company appointed to the receivership of Remote Year, did not maintain adequate business controls to ensure no fraud was involved while Selina was in receivership," said Sam Aborne, who had a trip planned including airline tickets for the month of February. "As recently as this week, they were still advertising. Where were the controls?"

FTI Consulting told Skift it doesn't comment on, confirm, or deny reports of client engagements.

Stranded Travelers

A Reddit forum for digital nomads had an active thread this weekend on the Remote Year shutdown. Customers shared screenshots of messages from Gary Murray and Tue Le — each of which blamed the other. Some customers took to TikTok in fury.

Matt Gray, who runs Pangea, a community app heavily used by digital nomads to form and track plans and meet fellow nomads, was also buzzing with dozens of people impacted by the cancellations. Many said they had flights booked for January and February programs, which were now canceled without a clear path to getting a refund.

Jennifer Satorius, who is currently on a Remote Year's trip in Peru and had another trip scheduled for next month in Brazil, told Skift that several of the vendors who had provide services are owed "several months of back pay they will never see."

Unpaid Vendors

Ardit Cami, a vendor who says he was in charge of Remote Year's operations in Albania for nearly two years, told Skift that Remote Year owes Albanian businesses (about $30,000) €27,000 euro for services provided. The last time services were paid was in September, via a sender with the name "Selina," he said.

In September, Sarah Wade traveled to Croatia with Remote Year and said she had an amazing experience. So, in late November, she booked a Remote Year trip to Istanbul for next September at a price of $2,599. Wade hopes her credit card issuer will eat the charge under its fraud protection coverage while pursuing a refund on her behalf.

Remote Year isn't the first digital nomad travel service to collapse. In 2018, We Roam failed.

Gray of Pangea, who has traveled to eight countries with Remote Year, said the program's shutdown is a real loss.

"[Remote Year's] specialty was helping people who have never traveled before embrace a nomadic lifestyle, which is so powerful and life-changing for so many," Gray said. "Really sad to see things end this way, and I feel for the people getting jerked around on refunds."