Selfbook

Selfbook is a New York-headquartered software company operating at the intersection of hospitality and fintech. Its core product lets hotels accept one-click/one-step payments directly on their own websites and existing reservation systems, implemented, according to the company, with a single line of code. The software supports digital wallets including Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal and buy-now-pay-later options alongside traditional debit and credit cards, and the company has described itself as the only hotel payment technology supporting digital wallet use and as the "Shopify for travel." Additional capabilities cited include direct booking links, smart merchandising, verification of payment details to reduce fraud and chargebacks, and the grouping of ancillary services such as restaurant reservations, spa appointments and activities into a single payment flow.

The product line has since broadened. Selfbook markets three routes to market on its site: AI Distribution (connecting hotels to AI-powered platforms such as Perplexity), Habitual Apps (integrations with widely used consumer apps and fintechs), and Native Direct (an embedded booking and payment solution on hotel websites). It also offers a Direct Distribution Network, described as commission-free and reaching nearly half a billion authenticated wallet users, and "Selfbook Layers," a customizable booking engine built with hotel brands covering room list, room detail and confirmation steps. A public developer API supports hotel search, booking and payment orchestration with access to up to two million hotels worldwide.

Earlier product releases include Flexible Cancellation and guest-first secure payment links (both 2023), and a planned extension product called PayBox, announced in 2022, intended to replace the payment flow within hotels' existing custom booking engines.

Founding story

Founder and CEO Khalid Meniri, who moved from Algeria to New York early in his career, worked as a data architect at Siemens and head of user experience at Moda Operandi and built apps for brands including Net-a-Porter, Unilever, Hearst, Harper's Bazaar and Moda Operandi before launching SixAgency to improve mobile e-commerce. SixAgency built a curated daily-product app, Curatum, and found that engagement was roughly 70% higher when travel experiences were featured, though conversions were near zero because users had to leave the app to book. In 2018 the app was renamed SIX Travel; unable to find an API partner with a simple hotel booking function, the team built its own transaction engine on top of the Global Distribution System, ultimately offering about 3,000 curated hotels and being featured by Apple as App of the Day for one-tap Apple Pay booking. Facing difficulty competing with Booking.com and Expedia and the impact of the pandemic, the company pivoted from B2C to B2B in September 2020 to sell its payment and transaction engine to hotels, relaunching as Selfbook.

Business model

B2B software sold to hotels and hotel groups, with distribution also occurring through fintech and consumer-app partners that embed Selfbook-powered hotel booking. The company positions itself as a neutral connectivity layer ("the Switzerland of connectivity") between hospitality groups, payment providers and rewards programs.

As of March 2022 the company charged a fixed 1% fee on all transactions it facilitated, and management said this could rise to 2% in the future. Its Direct Distribution Network is marketed to hotels as zero-commission.

Traction

April 2021 launch with one hotel; nearly 90 hotels contracted and 15 live by October 2021; nearly 100 hotels onboarded and 30 live customers by March 2022, with the CEO citing roughly 100% month-over-month customer growth and declining to disclose revenue. Headcount grew from four or five at the start of 2021 to 50 in October 2021 and 70 in March 2022. Over the six months preceding October 2021 the company reported a 10x increase in users of single sign-on and digital wallets, with 67% of bookings made using digital wallets on mobile. Published case studies report a 44% conversion increase from a new feature (2024), direct booking growth for Yotel (2024), and a more than 70% reduction in cancellation rates on flexible cancellation bookings at 11 Howard (2023).

Latest developments

In June 2025 Selfbook published items on redefining hotel commerce in the age of agentic AI and on PayPal adding hotel booking powered by Selfbook. Its current site emphasizes distribution through AI search platforms such as Perplexity, a zero-commission Direct Distribution Network reaching nearly half a billion authenticated users, and Selfbook Layers, a customizable booking engine co-developed with hotel brands.