3.28.2025
Safara, a hotel booking platform that curates the world’s best hotels and rewards travelers with cashback on every booking, announced its acquisition of Skipper, a software company empowering independent hotels with seamless shopping and checkout experiences. Alongside the acquisition, Safara also raised additional funding from defy.vc, Sequoia Capital, Thayer Ventures, and H20 to further accelerate its growth and innovation, bringing the company’s total funding to-date to $14 million.
Safara was founded by former Resy executives Doug Schuessler and Cody Rose who helped lead the company to an acquisition by American Express in 2019. Safara currently has 1M+ bookable properties globally in the marketplace app in addition to key boutique hotel groups like Ace Hotels, Aparium Hotel Group, Bridgeton, and Kirkwood Collection leveraging their online reservations SaaS solution.
Similar to Resy, Safara blends data aggregation and community-sourced recommendations to provide users with a curated booking experience. However, Safara also pairs this with a rich loyalty program that starts at 2.5% cashback and scales all the way up to 10% cashback to use towards your next trip. The strategy is attracting higher-spending users who travel frequently and are highly retentive: new users spend ~$1,000 per booking and 65% staying in hotels >4x per year.
“By combining Safara’s best-in-class marketplace product with Skipper’s powerful direct booking technology, we’re creating a platform that’s never existed before,” said Doug Schuessler, CEO and Co-Founder of Safara. “This union allows us to offer unparalleled value to both independent hotels and travelers, unlocking new ways for hotels to grow and for guests to benefit from a better digital experience.”
The integration of Skipper’s technology will enable Safara to deliver a uniquely differentiated platform already driving $100M+ in annualized gross merchandising volume. Skipper founders Jason Shames and Dane Bratz will be joining Safara to continue their mission of empowering independent hotels. “We built Skipper to help independent hotels thrive in an increasingly competitive market,” said Jason Shames, CEO of Skipper. “Joining Safara allows us to combine our strengths and create groundbreaking tools for the hospitality industry.”
Investors agree. “Safara’s consumer technology paired with Skipper’s hotel software is a highly-differentiated combination that’s just scratching the surface of what’s possible,” said Brian Rothenberg, Partner at defy.vc. “We’re excited to support their mission to empower independent hotels and to work with the team to deliver the innovation that this space deserves.”
Safara has appointed Michael Albert as Head of Hotel Success for its groundbreaking new platform, Safara360. A first of its kind booking platform, Safara 360, was designed to enhance direct bookings, improve profitability, and elevate the guest experience for independent hotels. The platform leverages the technology and network advantages offered by chains to their network of hotels and provides these benefits to independents through this fully integrated platform, in turn leveling the playing field for independent properties.
Michael is a seasoned hospitality industry leader with over two decades of diverse experience. Notably, he spent 14 years with Ace Hotel Group, where he excelled in optimizing distribution systems and developing comprehensive digital marketing strategies across various channels. With his extensive background in the travel industry and years of success in boosting brand visibility, customer engagement, and revenue generation, Michael brings a wealth of knowledge to his new role. Drawing upon his extensive knowledge of digital marketing strategies and distribution systems, he seeks to empower Safara360 clients to achieve unparalleled success in their direct booking endeavors by capitalizing on the cutting-edge technologies and tools offered by Safara360.
“Having worked alongside Michael at Ace Hotels, I’ve seen firsthand his deep understanding of hotel distribution and the challenges independent hotels face. His experience sitting on the other side of the table gives him a unique perspective that will allow him to be exceptionally proactive in supporting our partners,” said Jason Shames, Head of Product & Partners at Safara. “Under his leadership, we’re confident that our partners will fully leverage Safara360’s tools and technology to drive direct bookings, maximize revenue, and unlock their full potential.”