Selina Acquires Remote Year Brand and Doubles Down on Remote Work and Subscription Model
LONDON - Selina, the global hospitality platform, has today announced its acquisition in an all-stock transaction of the Remote Year's brand and customer base. Remote Year empowers professionals to embrace the remote work movement by taking their careers outside of the traditional office.
Selina and Remote Year represent two of the leading brands in the travel and remote work categories and this acquisition strengthens both brands' prospects for growth and expansion in a post-pandemic world. Remote Year will continue to exist as its own brand and will utilize Selina's catalogue of best-in-class properties, spanning 19 countries and 3 continents, to improve its customer experience. Selina will leverage Remote Year's community of driven professionals and remote workers as it focuses on longer-term stays and its remote work offering. As a collective, Selina and Remote Year will work together to tailor products that fit the needs of this expanding market.
The acquisition is one of a number of moves Selina is making to double down on its stay, play and "work from anywhere" model, including the recent launch of Selina's subscription-based travel packages. This newly developed subscription offering is geared to the all-time high demand for remote work, with approximately 40% of employees expected to utilize a remote working model in the future. Allowing people to travel the world at the cost of their rent, or in some cases, even less, the program builds not only on Selina's adoption of the remote work culture but also the societal WFH shift as a result of the pandemic.
The model has launched with three different passes - the Nomad Passport for those who want to purchase multiple stays ahead of their travels, Selina CoLive for the remote worker who wants to live/work at a Selina property for an extended period of time, and the B2B Remote Work Pass for the frequent remote worker who wants to stay at a Selina property for a fixed period of time per month, and is paid for by their employer, allowing companies to bring this level of flexibility to their teams. Each subscription package enables travelers to move freely amongst Selina properties, either regionally or globally, inclusive of accommodations, coworking spaces, daily wellness activities, weekly laundry and discounts for food and beverage, with prices starting at just $180 per month in some locations.
"At Selina, we have always supported flexible remote work models and believe they result in an increase in productivity and a reduction in turnover for businesses. With the acquisition of the Remote Year brand, and the launch of our subscription-based packages, it's clear that our business model is one designed for this new age of working, and is well-positioned to support not only long-standing digital nomads but also a new generation of remote workers that are being offered more flexible work environments by companies looking to attract and retain talent", said Selina Co-Founder and CEO Rafael Museri.
"We could not be more thrilled to join the Selina family. We have previously partnered with Selina in multiple markets over the last few years, and look forward to utilizing their global team and infrastructure to power our best programs yet. As travel resumes and more professionals work remotely, we are planning for a surge in demand for our transformational 4 and 12-month work and travel programs", said Remote Year Co-Founder and CEO, Sam Pessin.
"As we look to a new era of travel and hospitality, we plan to continue expanding our product to offer unique experiences at the intersection of culture, work and travel, that ultimately make it easier than ever for a new generation of worldly travelers to pursue their most fulfilling lives", said Museri.
ABOUT REMOTE YEAR
Remote Year brings together communities of creative, driven professionals to live abroad while working remotely. They offer 1, 4, 6, and 12-month programs, where participants or "Remotes" live and work in a new city each month for the program's duration. Remote Year operates in cities all around the world, including Latin America, Europe, and Asia. Please visit http://www.remoteyear.com for the latest news and information.
About Selina Hospitality PLC
Selina Hospitality PLC (NASDAQ: SLNA) is a global hospitality brand built to address the needs of millennial and Gen Z travelers, blending beautifully designed accommodation with coworking, recreation, wellness, and local experiences. Founded in 2014 and custom-built for today's nomadic traveler, Selina provides guests with a global infrastructure to seamlessly travel and work abroad. Each Selina property is designed in partnership with local artists, creators, and tastemakers, breathing new life into existing buildings in interesting locations in 24 countries on six continents – from urban cities to remote beaches and jungles. To learn more, visit Selina.com or follow Selina on X, Instagram, Facebook, Linkedin or YouTube.
