Hospitality network Selina today announced that it has raised $100 million in a Series C financing round, led by Access Industries with participation from Grupo Wiese and existing investors Colony Latam Partners. This brings the company’s total funding to $225 million to date.
Founded in 2015, Selina currently operates in 46 locations in 13 countries, with over 22,000 beds open or under conversion. Selina combines private and shared accommodation with co-working facilities, and offers food and beverage, wellness, retail and local experiences. Describing itself as a design and tech-centric brand, Selina aims to have 130,000 beds and over 400 properties by 2023.
The company was conceived in 2007 when two Israeli friends Daniel Rudasevski and Rafael Museri were both working as real estate developers in a small fishing town called Pedasi in Panama. Seeing potential in the town's glorious beaches, they raised money in Israel and single-handedly developed a tourist industry in the town.
Rudasevski and Museri are now trying to repeat the experience worldwide with an endeavor that combines WeWork and Airbnb. They take office buildings and graft on upmarket hostels.
Museri says, "We’ll continue to invest in our technology innovation team in Tel Aviv as we explore digitally-driven ways to disrupt the hospitality industry, enhance the complete booking and user experience for travelers, and continue rapid expansion into new markets across the globe."
He adds, "As we’ve seen across a number of industries from co-working to ridesharing, millennials and Gen Z are redefining how they want to live, work and explore the world. The ambitious and adventurous nature of these generations proves that there is a demand for our experiential hospitality model today and for years to come."
Based in New York, Museri has told "TechCrunch" that he will be relocating to London. Tel Aviv remains the company's technology development center and in 2019 Selina plans opening its first hospitality center in Israel as well as in 34 other properties in the US, UK, Germany, Portugal, Greece, Argentina, Brazil and Mexico. The company will expand into Asia in 2020.
To fuel this rapid growth, Selina has also secured substantial funding commitments from regional partners who will acquire real estate and fund Selina’s conversion costs at the country level. To date, Selina has secured over $300 million in real estate commitments and is in advanced negotiations for an additional $200 million in Europe, Latin America and the US.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on April 24, 2019
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