I have a stubborn persona and a relentless drive to create a seamless experience, which led us to pivot our strategy during the pandemic. We realized that no hotel could accept Apple Pay at that time, and launching a consumer app was extremely challenging.

We were the first site to allow users to book accommodations and pay online through the app, which was a significant innovation at the time.

Selfbook provides hotels with a streamlined booking experience, allowing guests to book directly on the hotel website without leaving for an online travel agency, thus avoiding the 25% commission typically paid to OTAs.

Selfbook provides the infrastructure for travel, aiming to eliminate friction in the booking process to increase conversion rates.

Airbnb's founders realized the importance of facilitating payments after a personal experience highlighted the need for a secure transaction process.

This experience led us to decide to manage payments ourselves, not for profit, but to enhance the overall hospitality experience.

Our rapid growth since launch has been driven by a charmingly relentless push to modernize an industry that I believe is sleepwalking towards a precipice, especially regarding payment solutions like Apple Pay that don't integrate well with outdated systems.

We aimed to create a seamless booking experience, ensuring users could book a home in three clicks, similar to the ease of using an iPod.

Instead of trying to completely replace existing hotel systems, we pivoted to work cohesively with them, integrating our solutions to enhance the booking experience.