Coliving Giant Zolostays Makes Foray Into Luxury Hotel Space With Launch Of Hotel Z - Triloha In Bengaluru

The hotel will feature 57 elegantly furnished guest rooms equipped with state-of-the-art amenities

The launch is part of Zolo’s expansion plans into newer segments to cater to discerning customers

Zolostays, India's largest co-living and student-housing platform, is set to expand its reach and offer its signature hospitality to a new audience with its first foray into the luxury segment. The company announced the launch of its first luxury hotel in India, Hotel Z Triloha, located in the heart of Bangalore's bustling neighbourhood. The hotel's strategic location places it just minutes away from major tech parks like Embassy Tech Village, RMZ Ecoworld, Cessna Tech Park, and leading companies such as Adobe, Myntra, and LinkedIn.

The hotel features 57 beautifully appointed guest rooms, each with a spacious and luxurious interior, plush bedding, and state-of-the-art amenities. The hotel also offers a range of suites, including a luxurious presidential suite, perfect for guests seeking an elevated experience.

Hotel Z also boasts of a range of dining options, including a restaurant serving an exquisite selection of international and local cuisine, with an array of culinary delights served as complimentary breakfast. The rooftop restaurant is the perfect spot to enjoy a refreshing drink and take in the panoramic views of the city.

For those seeking relaxation and rejuvenation, the hotel's state-of-the-art fitness centre is equipped with the latest equipment and is open 24 hours a day, ensuring that guests can maintain their exercise routines during their stay. Hotel Z also offers a range of event spaces, from conference rooms to theatre rooms that can accommodate up to 30 guests.

"We are excited to launch Hotel Z - Triloha, where we aim to provide unparalleled service and hospitality that surpasses our guests' expectations and leaves them with unforgettable experiences," stated Dr. Nikhil Sikri, Co-founder and CEO of ZoloStays. "Our entry into the luxury segment with this launch in Bangalore marks a significant milestone in our expansion plans. As a business, we understand the importance of diversifying our customer base, exploring new revenue streams, and expanding into new markets to drive long-term success. With this launch, we aim to provide comfort and convenience to both travellers and locals in one of India's most vibrant cities. Our expansion strategy is built on extensive market research and a deep understanding of local culture and regulations, coupled with an unwavering commitment to excellence."

About Zolo Stays

Headquartered in Bengaluru and founded in 2015, Zolostays is India’s largest co-living and student-housing platform. At the company's helm are three young entrepreneurs, Nikhil Sikri, Akhil Sikri, and Sneha Choudhary - all fiercely passionate about making a difference in the overcrowded co-living market by keeping customer experience and technology as their core focus. Zolostays’ offerings are divided into three verticals: Coliving Spaces, Student Housing, and Pre-leased Real Estate Investment. And underpinning all these three verticals is the company’s core philosophy of providing hassle-free living with freedom, flexibility, and functionality.

OYO Adopts Hybrid Workplace Model, Committed to Employee Safety, Health and Wellness

The company has adopted 'hybrid workplace model' that will pivot on the combination of work from home, work from anywhere and work from flexible co-working spaces

Currently, 100% of OYO's workforce is working in a hybrid model and are using tools like Zoom, Google hangouts, Slack to stay connected and maintain productivity

Launched multiple employee-centric virtual & digital initiatives with the objective of maintaining employee productivity, boosting employee morale

To support employee's mental well-being during these challenging times, OYO also offers an Employee Well-being & Assistance Program (EWAP)

As COVID-19 restrictions ease and the economy starts to open up again, many corporates have begun planning to bring their workforce back to the office. Keeping in mind the new business realities, OYO Hotels & Homes, one of the world's leading hotel chains, has moved to a 'hybrid workplace model' for a foreseeable future which is helping the company operate in full capacity across the country, without compromising the health and safety of its employees. While a significant majority continue to work from home, several teams have chosen to 'work from anywhere' while others have opted for flexible co-working centres offered by OYO Workspaces, the company's co-working arm.

Employee safety, health and well-being top the list of priorities for the company. The hybrid model ensures to give options to the workforce as the states come out of lockdown to maintain social distancing norms and provide flexibility in the working hours which in return has resulted in a noticeable improvement in overall productivity. OYO is continuously empowering its employees with the right tools such as Slack to drive their productivity and performance, to build a high-performing and employee-first work culture, and a strong leadership bench strength.

Leading with humanity and empathy, OYO has rolled out various employee-centric initiatives to boost employee morale during these times. To ensure employee connect, OYO is organising virtual coffee sessions with its leaders, has launched 'CEO-Club' - a recognition programme by Rohit Kapoor, CEO, OYO India & South Asia and has also rolled-out skip-level, monthly rewards and recognition meets. The company also recently hosted its first-ever Virtual Family Day aimed at building better interpersonal bonds among OYOPrenuers. To promote upskilling and e-learning among its employees, OYO has launched OYOVersity, it's Learning Management System for the employees which includes lessons on leadership, how to boost productivity while working remotely among other topics. These fully digital modules also include an additional COVID-19 module to communicate necessary precautions and health advisories to OYOprenuers across geographies. Internal tech support platform OYO Seek has been instrumental in resolving most technology-dependent concerns in a timely manner.

Commenting on the development, Dinesh Ramamurthi, Chief Human Resources Officer, OYO Hotels & Homes said, "With the changes in the working environment, the current situation is a testament that employee efficiency is greater than actual physical presence. At OYO, we are committed to employee safety, wellbeing and have adopted a hybrid workplace model keeping in mind the evolving needs of the current and future workforce. Our workforce is divided into three categories, corporate employees, capability functions and field staff. While the field staff is already stepping out and attending office following all the health and safety protocols, our corporate employees and capability functions are also fully operational, and are opting for a combination of work from home and working from flexible coworking spaces solutions."

Commenting on the adoption of co-working spaces as part of the hybrid workplace model, Dr. Ritesh Malik, Founder, Innov8, said, "The Co-working industry is seeing more companies opting for availability of flexible office solutions & Co-working models to reduce long term blockage of capital in leases and furniture. Going forward, work from home options will increase however; there's an opportunity for co-working players like ours where companies are collaborating with us to develop work from home units as well. Once the lockdown eases and as the workforce returns, adoption of the nearest Co-working offices for employees is also going to increase."

Anuj Puri, Chairman, ANAROCK Property Consultants, said, "The COVID-19 pandemic has kick-started a rapid evolutionary process across the real estate landscape. Extreme innovation is what will win the game in the near future. As evidenced by the success of office-retail complexes, hybrid models clearly have potential. The workplace of tomorrow will depend on tighter collaboration to seamlessly weld together teams working from home as well as offices. Technology will be the primary enabler, not least of all when it comes to data security in the newly re-envisioned world."

To support employee's mental well-being during these challenging times, OYO's Employee Well-being & Assistance Program (EWAP) provides consultation services to its employees where they can confidentially avail professional support to improve their emotional well being. EWAP benefits include unlimited phone counselling, access to an 8-week online Behavioral Therapy program among others. The company aims to enable its employees to lead a fuller, stress-free life given the changing work environment.

OYO Adopts Hybrid Workplace Model, Committed to Employee Safety, Health and Wellness

• The company has adopted 'hybrid workplace model' that will pivot on the combination of work from home, work from anywhere and work from flexible co-working spaces
• Currently, 100% of OYO's workforce is working in a hybrid model and are using tools like Zoom, Google hangouts, Slack to stay connected and maintain productivity 
• Launched multiple employee-centric virtual & digital initiatives with the objective of maintaining employee productivity, boosting employee morale 
• To support employee's mental well-being during these challenging times, OYO also offers an Employee Well-being & Assistance Program (EWAP) 

As COVID-19 restrictions ease and the economy starts to open up again, many corporates have begun planning to bring their workforce back to the office. Keeping in mind the new business realities, OYO Hotels & Homes, one of the world's leading hotel chains, has moved to a 'hybrid workplace model' for a foreseeable future which is helping the company operate in full capacity across the country, without compromising the health and safety of its employees. While a significant majority continue to work from home, several teams have chosen to 'work from anywhere' while others have opted for flexible co-working centres offered by OYO Workspaces, the company's co-working arm.

Employee safety, health and well-being top the list of priorities for the company. The hybrid model ensures to give options to the workforce as the states come out of lockdown to maintain social distancing norms and provide flexibility in the working hours which in return has resulted in a noticeable improvement in overall productivity. OYO is continuously empowering its employees with the right tools such as Slack to drive their productivity and performance, to build a high-performing and employee-first work culture, and a strong leadership bench strength.

Leading with humanity and empathy, OYO has rolled out various employee-centric initiatives to boost employee morale during these times. To ensure employee connect, OYO is organising virtual coffee sessions with its leaders, has launched 'CEO-Club' - a recognition programme by Rohit Kapoor, CEO, OYO India & South Asia and has also rolled-out skip-level, monthly rewards and recognition meets. The company also recently hosted its first-ever Virtual Family Day aimed at building better interpersonal bonds among OYOPrenuers. To promote upskilling and e-learning among its employees, OYO has launched OYOVersity, it's Learning Management System for the employees which includes lessons on leadership, how to boost productivity while working remotely among other topics. These fully digital modules also include an additional COVID-19 module to communicate necessary precautions and health advisories to OYOprenuers across geographies. Internal tech support platform OYO Seek has been instrumental in resolving most technology-dependent concerns in a timely manner.

Commenting on the development, Dinesh Ramamurthi, Chief Human Resources Officer, OYO Hotels & Homes said, "With the changes in the working environment, the current situation is a testament that employee efficiency is greater than actual physical presence. At OYO, we are committed to employee safety, wellbeing and have adopted a hybrid workplace model keeping in mind the evolving needs of the current and future workforce. Our workforce is divided into three categories, corporate employees, capability functions and field staff. While the field staff is already stepping out and attending office following all the health and safety protocols, our corporate employees and capability functions are also fully operational, and are opting for a combination of work from home and working from flexible coworking spaces solutions."

Commenting on the adoption of co-working spaces as part of the hybrid workplace model, Dr. Ritesh Malik, Founder, Innov8, said, "The Co-working industry is seeing more companies opting for availability of flexible office solutions & Co-working models to reduce long term blockage of capital in leases and furniture. Going forward, work from home options will increase however; there's an opportunity for co-working players like ours where companies are collaborating with us to develop work from home units as well. Once the lockdown eases and as the workforce returns, adoption of the nearest Co-working offices for employees is also going to increase."

Anuj Puri, Chairman, ANAROCK Property Consultants, said, "The COVID-19 pandemic has kick-started a rapid evolutionary process across the real estate landscape. Extreme innovation is what will win the game in the near future. As evidenced by the success of office-retail complexes, hybrid models clearly have potential. The workplace of tomorrow will depend on tighter collaboration to seamlessly weld together teams working from home as well as offices. Technology will be the primary enabler, not least of all when it comes to data security in the newly re-envisioned world."

To support employee's mental well-being during these challenging times, OYO's Employee Well-being & Assistance Program (EWAP) provides consultation services to its employees where they can confidentially avail professional support to improve their emotional well being. EWAP benefits include unlimited phone counselling, access to an 8-week online Behavioral Therapy program among others. The company aims to enable its employees to lead a fuller, stress-free life given the changing work environment.

OYO's Loyalty Programme OYO Wizard Crosses the 7.5 Mn+ Subscribers Milestone, Grows by 50% in 2020

OYO, one of the world's leading hotel chains today announced that OYO Wizard, its customer loyalty program has crossed the 7.5 million+ member mark as of May 2020. This indicates a 50% growth in subscribers in 2020 over the base last year.

One of India's largest paid hospitality loyalty programs, OYO Wizard is designed to recognise and reward frequent customers and offers them a unique host of benefits, including guaranteed discounts, cashback, discount coupons and upgrades.

Given the current scenario owing to COVID-19 and reduced travel, OYO has extended all Wizard memberships by 4 months at no additional cost and has contributed all proceeds from the Wizard membership purchases for April 2020 to the OYO Welfare Fund. The OYO Welfare fund was set up for the benefit and welfare of the employees & asset partners and their staff members impacted by the pandemic or the consequent restrictions all over the world.

As India returns to normalcy OYO Wizard's growing subscriber base serves as an important indicator of the need for affordable and flexible choices with end-to-end customer experience management. Keeping in mind the changing needs of customers in the post-pandemic world, OYO also recently launched a customer-centric initiative, OYO Wowcher that offers customers double its value with the flexibility on the duration of redemption.

Commenting on this milestone, Abhishek Bansal, Vice President - Revenue Management - OYO Hotels & Homes said, "We are proud to announce that our loyalty program OYO Wizard has crossed the 7.5 mn+ mark. Even during tough times like these, this milestone serves as a testament that our offerings are in line with our customer's requirements which have a new benchmark post-COVID with flexibility & affordability being at the core. As we shift gears with Unlock 1.0 and hotels re-open in a phased manner, we strive to offer our loyal customers exclusive curated deals for hygienic sanitised stays with convenient, seamless booking options at industry-best prices."

Interestingly, over 60% of hotels on OYO platform are a part of the Wizard network and 60% of all transactions made by premium Wizard members are done on Wizard member hotels, resulting in higher revenue for Wizard partner hotels as compared to non-Wizard hotels. On OYO's platform, every second room booked is by a Wizard member with a 2X+ lifetime spend as compared to non-wizard members.

At present, OYO Wizard is available across 4 tiers - Wizard Blue (INR 99 for 6 months membership), Wizard Silver (INR 199 for 1-year membership), Wizard Gold (INR 399 for 2 years membership) and OYO Wizard Lite.

Core benefits of premium tiers include -

• An additional 5% discount on all Wizard member hotels (over and above existing discounts)


• An additional 10% on Wizard Base hotel selected by the user


• Instant OYO Money rewards worth INR 500, INR 1200 and INR 3000 for Blue, Silver and Gold respectively

There are benefits provided to members in the higher tiers, including 40% discount vouchers (1 for Silver and 2 for Gold) and OYO Money cashback on every stay (INR 75 for Silver, INR 200 for Gold).

For more information, log onto www.oyorooms.com/wizard.

About OYO Hotels and Homes - Opening its doors in 2013, OYO Hotels & Homes, a young hotel startup, today is the world's leading chain of hotels and homes. OYO today operates in over 800 cities in 80 countries, including the U.S., Europe, U.K., India, Middle East, Southeast Asia, and Japan.

Luxury Hotel Aggregator Platform icanstay.com Raises Rs 1.30 Cr from Manoj Prasad

Delhi-based First Time Travellers Ltd, which owns and operate www.icanstay.com, a portal known for making luxury hotel stay available for business travelers, has successfully raised fresh round of funding of Rs 1.30 Cr from an angel investor Mr. Manoj Prasad, executive chairman at Singapore-based venture capital and management advisory firm MP Morgan Capital Partners Pte. Ltd., announced the startup in a press release.

This is addition to Rs 2.24 Cr raised few months earlier from the same investor who has picked up 6.54 % stake in the company. The overall funds acquired are USD Five Hundred Fifty Thousand. This investment values FTTL at more than Rs 36 Cr, in a short span of just nine months since its commercial launch.

Commenting on his investment, Mr. Manoj Prasad, the angel investor said, “We see tremendous growth opportunities in the travel and hospitality space in India. FTTL is an exciting start-up with a unique model that brings value to all its stakeholders – customers as well as hotels and is well positioned for growth. We are excited to partner with such an exceptional management team and continue to build and grow this business over the long term.”

"icanstay" is launched to fulfil aspiration of millions of Indians, who have yet not experienced stay in a Luxury Hotel. As per market study, less then 2% Indians have experienced stay in a luxury hotel. There is a huge aspirational class of customers, as per our estimates 10% of the total population, who wish and desire to stay in a luxury hotel. And as on date there are 125000 luxury rooms in India, which will grow to 165000 by 2020. With industry average of 62% occupancy, 47500 rooms go vacant daily. Icanstay is a market place/bridge for a large base of aspirational consumers and luxury hotels with vacant rooms.

icanstay offers 4 & 5 Star rooms all over India at an amazing and fixed price of 2999 (include GST) all around the year. No seasonal surges or city-based price. The portal wishes to upgrade budget hotel customer to Luxury hotel and make this his/her way of life.

Users can purchase an open voucher valid for 11 months, which can be utilised in more than 50 cities.

Mr. Puneet Gupta, COO and Co-Founder, FTTL said, that the investment would be utilized to beef up the technology and expand hotel network. We are strongly placed to help hotels fill their vacant rooms and increase their yield per room. Further we are continuously strengthening our product offering and user experience. We are targeting a turnover of Rs. 700 Crores by 2020.”

The company’s USP has always been the price and flexibility that it offers to its customers, making luxury hotel stay affordable for as many people as possible.

Hospitality is a $550bn+ industry and is growing at a CAGR of ~10%. While hotels are already fighting a battle with MakeMyTrips & AirBnBs of the world; a unique and personalized Guest Experience which is Valuable, Durable, Rare and most importantly Non-Imitable will create a long-term loyalty.

Last month, Bangaluru-based NestAway had announced a whopping $51 Mn fund-raise from Goldman Sachs, UC-RNT Fund and the University of California. In May 2017, NestAway had too made acquisition of residential rental management company Zenify for an undisclosed amount.

In February, student housing startup Placio raised $2 Mn in a Pre-Series A funding round from Prestellar Ventures. Around the same time, co-living startup CoLive raised $1.8 Mn (INR12 Cr) in a round of funding led by Ncubate Capital Partners. In the same month, Bengaluru-based Trilyo, a B2B hospitality industry SaaS company that offers artificial intelligence (AI) driven Voice & Chat based solutions for providing next-generation customer experience, has raised $250k round of funding led by Startup Buddy

In November 2017, another player of student accommodation, Stanza Living raised $2 Mn in funding from investment firms Matrix Partners and California-headquartered Accel Partners. Another similar startup Zolo had raised $5 million from Nexus Venture Partners, in January 2017.

Luxury Hotel Aggregator Platform icanstay.com Raises Rs 1.30 Cr from Manoj Prasad

Delhi-based First Time Travellers Ltd, which owns and operate www.icanstay.com, a portal known for making luxury hotel stay available for business travelers, has successfully raised fresh round of funding of Rs 1.30 Cr from an angel investor Mr. Manoj Prasad, executive chairman at Singapore-based venture capital and management advisory firm MP Morgan Capital Partners Pte. Ltd., announced the startup in a press release.

This is addition to Rs 2.24 Cr raised few months earlier from the same investor who has picked up 6.54 % stake in the company. The overall funds acquired are USD Five Hundred Fifty Thousand. This investment values FTTL at more than Rs 36 Cr, in a short span of just nine months since its commercial launch.

Commenting on his investment, Mr. Manoj Prasad, the angel investor said, “We see tremendous growth opportunities in the travel and hospitality space in India. FTTL is an exciting start-up with a unique model that brings value to all its stakeholders – customers as well as hotels and is well positioned for growth. We are excited to partner with such an exceptional management team and continue to build and grow this business over the long term.”

"icanstay" is launched to fulfil aspiration of millions of Indians, who have yet not experienced stay in a Luxury Hotel. As per market study, less then 2% Indians have experienced stay in a luxury hotel. There is a huge aspirational class of customers, as per our estimates 10% of the total population, who wish and desire to stay in a luxury hotel. And as on date there are 125000 luxury rooms in India, which will grow to 165000 by 2020. With industry average of 62% occupancy, 47500 rooms go vacant daily. Icanstay is a market place/bridge for a large base of aspirational consumers and luxury hotels with vacant rooms.

icanstay offers 4 & 5 Star rooms all over India at an amazing and fixed price of 2999 (include GST) all around the year. No seasonal surges or city-based price. The portal wishes to upgrade budget hotel customer to Luxury hotel and make this his/her way of life.

Users can purchase an open voucher valid for 11 months, which can be utilised in more than 50 cities.

Mr. Puneet Gupta, COO and Co-Founder, FTTL said, that the investment would be utilized to beef up the technology and expand hotel network. We are strongly placed to help hotels fill their vacant rooms and increase their yield per room. Further we are continuously strengthening our product offering and user experience. We are targeting a turnover of Rs. 700 Crores by 2020.”

The company’s USP has always been the price and flexibility that it offers to its customers, making luxury hotel stay affordable for as many people as possible.

Hospitality is a $550bn+ industry and is growing at a CAGR of ~10%. While hotels are already fighting a battle with MakeMyTrips & AirBnBs of the world; a unique and personalized Guest Experience which is Valuable, Durable, Rare and most importantly Non-Imitable will create a long-term loyalty.

Last month, Bangaluru-based NestAway had announced a whopping $51 Mn fund-raise from Goldman Sachs, UC-RNT Fund and the University of California. In May 2017, NestAway had too made acquisition of residential rental management company Zenify for an undisclosed amount.

In February, student housing startup Placio raised $2 Mn in a Pre-Series A funding round from Prestellar Ventures. Around the same time, co-living startup CoLive raised $1.8 Mn (INR12 Cr) in a round of funding led by Ncubate Capital Partners. In the same month, Bengaluru-based Trilyo, a B2B hospitality industry SaaS company that offers artificial intelligence (AI) driven Voice & Chat based solutions for providing next-generation customer experience, has raised $250k round of funding led by Startup Buddy

In November 2017, another player of student accommodation, Stanza Living raised $2 Mn in funding from investment firms Matrix Partners and California-headquartered Accel Partners. Another similar startup Zolo had raised $5 million from Nexus Venture Partners, in January 2017.

IIT Madras Alumni Startup Is Breaking The Age Old Traditions Of Hospitality By Providing Hotel Booking By The Hour

Do you remember the days when you have to hire a cab for the entire day even though you needed to use it for a few hours? I guess no. After the dent made by services like Ola and Uber in the cab industry, it is hard to imagine booking a cab for an entire day when you need it only to go to work.

Unfortunately, this has not changed when it comes to hotel booking. Travelling is something which everyone loves. But what makes a travel costly; is the stay at a hotel. Even if you are travelling to give your exam or attend any business meeting for which you need a room just for few hours, you have to do a full day booking (12 noon – 12 noon) in a hotel, which in turns make your travel cost rise.

Sandeep Jaiswal and Pranav Prabhakar, after experiencing the same thing they felt it is unethical and unfair to be charged for an entire day when they use a room for only a few hours. And this is where they stumbled upon the idea for catering the need and founded MiStay, with the aim of breaking the age-old traditions and changing the rules of hospitality to make travel flexible and fair to travellers.

MiStay is a travel tech company which allows booking hotel rooms by the pack of hours with flexible check-in and check-out times.

“The problem with rigid full day booking affects every kind of travellers. MiStay allows travellers can book a room for an appropriate combination of slots and pay only for the time stayed. It offers, booking based on slots (8 am – 11 am (Morning slot), 12 noon – 7 pm (Day slot), 8 pm – 7 am (Night slot)). This not only fills the needs of frequent business travellers as well as leisure travellers who require room for less than a day or with flexible timings but also gives hotels a channel to increase their occupancy and revenue per available room,” says Pranav Prabhakar, Co-founder and CTO, MiStay.

Meet The Innovators

Sandeep Jaiswal who is an IIT Madras alumnus has 2 years of experience in management consulting. Most recently, he worked with strategy consulting firm, Essex Lake Group, where he devised profit enhancement solutions for one of the largest banks in South Africa, and also filed 2 patents for developing internal analytical tools. Prior to joining Essex, he co-founded a for-profit social enterprise AmrutDhara which was aimed at reducing the environmental hazard from bottled water by providing a sustainable alternative.

Whereas, Pranav Prabhakar, a computer science graduate from IIT Madras with over 3 years of experience in design and product development has worked as software engineer at LinkedIn. Prior to joining LinkedIn, he had founded a new media startup, Cinemagrapher, where he developed an innovative product to help photographers and marketers automatically create cinemagraphs from short videos. Earlier, he had also co-founded HireFellas, a curated marketplace for photographers.

At MiStay, Jaiswal is responsible for driving the overall vision of the company to ensure customer delight while leading the on-ground operations, partnerships and business development for the sustainable growth of the company. Whereas Prabhakar leads the technology and design to build innovative solutions for customers while making sure that all efforts are grounded in user-centered principles.

Business Mockup

MiStay has partnered with around 115 hotels across 8 cities in India (Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Pune, Gurgaon). The hotels range from 2 star to 5 star hotels including some chains like Pride hotels, Mango hotels, etc. With an initial investment of Rs 4 lacs, the founders developed the entire platform in-house. Launched in April 2016, the website is the consumer facing portal through which one can make a booking at a hotel.

“We have also developed MiStay Extranet, which is a software provided to the partner hotels for managing room rates and inventory. Later in October 2016, we have launched MiStay for Business, a portal developed for corporates, where the travel managers in any company can make bookings on behalf of the company employees,” says Prabhakar.

Duo has also developed the effective payment mode. They have 2 models of payment- Pay at Hotel, where customer makes direct payment at the hotel in which TAC is collected by MiStay for all bookings for a month at the end of the month. Another is Pay Online, where customer pays online to MiStay at the time of booking. The net amount after deducting TAC is transferred to the hotel before the guest checks in.

“In case of last minute booking or a booking happens on a non working day, payment is transferred on the day of check in or next working day. Hotels can opt for either or both modes of payment,” informs Prabhakar.

MiStay takes around 20% of the booking amount as referral commission from the partner hotels on the bookings done through the platform.

What Makes Them Stand Strong In The Market

If we look at the figuers, hotel industry in India is a $20 billion market and MiStay is targeting the business travel segment primarily, which is estimated to constitute around $12-14 billion of the total hotel booking market. In India, this market has just started getting recognized. And various OTAs like Goibibo, MakeMyTrip, etc. as well as some other startups working on the same concept are the key competitors for MiStay. But if we talk about the global market, startup competes with players like DayUse.com and ByHours.com.

“Going forward, direct tie-ups with corporates to manage their employees’ business travel will be a key customer acquisition channel. Hence, the offline travel agents serving the corporates would be competitor in that market,” says Prabhakar.

Despite competing with companies like MayMyTrip, Goibibo etc. there USP, extreme due-diligence in partnering with hotels is something which makes founders stand strong in the market.

“Apart from the two core pillars – paying only for time stayed, and flexible check-in/check-out times, another key aspect that differentiates MiStay from any other player in the industry is the extreme due-diligence in partnering with hotels. All the partner hotels are strategically located near key business hubs of the cities or near the transit areas like airports and railway stations. More than 75% of the MiStay partner hotels have Tripadvisor rating more than 4 out of 5,” says Prabhakar.

Future Map

In the short span of time, this Bengaluru-based startup has seen 36% of repeated customers. MiStay, which was one of the 10 startups nationally selected for Axillor Ventures Accelerator program intend to make their every customer their brand evangelist by ensuring them the best hotel experience.

“We have already started seeing sudden growth in last few weeks. We have seen more than 200% month-on-month growth, and this is likely to increase multi-folds as we start tapping various growth channels,” concludes Prabhakar..

Our Take

Online penetration in hotel booking in India is only around 20% and if we talk about corporate hotel booking market in India, it is very fragmented, unorganized and largely served offline. However, the industry is slowing moving towards becoming more online. With the help off mushrooming startups like Mistay, Self-Booking Technology (SBTs) are going to be the trend in corporate travel market in coming years.

Hyderabad-based TravelSpice is India’s First Opaque and Map Based Hotel Booking Platform

Now travelers can enjoy their stay at star rated hotels without cutting a hole in their pockets. Hyderabad-based TravelSpice is offering value deals on a hotel stay nationally and internationally. The startup claims to provide up to 70 per cent savings on amazing hotels in 210+ Indian cities with free breakfast plus other exclusive offerings. Travelers can bid online for free with no hidden charges. They can do bookings on their own only if they like the available options. According to Ramu Kallepalli, Co-Founder, TravelSpice, "We are spreading happiness to the world and bringing unique culture through our exceptional products and offerings. We endeavor user-friendly hotel bookings with the best deals at lowest rates."

TravelSpice was founded by Ramu Kallepalli and Prashant Mitta in 2007. Prashant Mitta Co-Founder, TravelSpice adds, "We are happy that our idea is recognized by the industry and countries best hotels who are associated with us to sell their unreserved inventory with no changes in the prices of other traditional sales channels."

Who is Making the Idea a Reality?

TravelSpice was founded by Ramu Kallepalli and Prashant Mitta after years of experience in different industries. Ramu Kallepalli has done his MS engineering from Montana State University, Bozeman, MT and MBA (Finance, Marketing, and Strategy) from University of Chicago Booth School of Business. Before launching this concept he has worked as Practice Manager in Oracle Corporation Consulting organization managing their Oracle ERP performance architecture group in Chicago. Prashant Mitta is taking care of supplier relations & oversees day-to-day operations of TravelSpice. He has over than 17 years of experience in Business Management, Marketing, Operations & Project Delivery experience with P & L responsibility in Information Technology & E-commerce space.

An Exciting Online Booking Platform

TravelSpice is India's 1st opaque and map based hotels booking platform that offers customers the freedom to do bookings in 3/4/5 star rated hotels across the country at the prices of their choice. The platform is based on a new age technology and service disruption to fulfill the demands of customers including affordability, aspiration, and availability etc. Kallepalli adds, “There is no other hotel booking portal like us. Customers can save up to 70 percent in addition to the regular discounts. This makes us one of the favourite online hotel booking platforms in India". It is true that TravelSpice is a novel technique of online hotel bookings for an unforgettable experience.

Unique Business Concept

How does TravelSpice work? Well, the concept of business is very simple and unique all along fulfilling common man's dream to stay at a luxury hotel at lowest prices ever. The startup has created a fascinating business model and a win for everyone including customer, hotels and itself. It secures a specific commission for each booking instead of taking a different amount of user bid and hotel bid. The startup is providing rooms to the guests at star rated hotels just by using unsold and perishable inventory. For bookings, customers need to bid first. Once the booking is confirmed customers can enjoy all the benefits for their desired bookings. Kallepalli adds, “We leverage customers to stay at high demand location across the country and some of the high demand locations in the world.”

Market Opportunity and Challenges

According to an ICRA report, "The domestic hotel industry is estimated to touch $1.8 billion by 2017, which was $0.8 billion in 2016, buoyed by a rise in online bookings.” But, in reality, the market scenario is totally different. Most of the hotels are in huge losses due to unsold inventories. There are abundant figures which are strong enough to dismiss the estimated figures. Not only the hotels but customers are also facing obstacles as they don’t have bargaining power. TravelSpice has only fully paid customers with the non-cancellation option. It connects customers directly to the to Hotels through a mobile app so that they can sell their perishable inventory without lowering prices through other traditional sales channels.

Geared Up To compete Successfully

Unlike other online platforms, TravelSpice divulge's the identity of the hotel prior confirming the booking and thereby ensuring transparency in the entire booking procedure for a greater customer contentedness. Other online platforms like goibibo, yatra.com, and makemytrip.com, etc. don’t disclose the name of the hotel until it is purchased. “We are not directly competing with these companies as their businesses are based on different models and also their target audience is completely unlike,” Kallepalli adds. Find My Stay has the same business concept like TravelSpice but their process is different and it is time-consuming too.

TravelSpice is looking for avenues to raise funds as they want to scale faster but for aggressive marketing and expansion, they lack funds. Since 2007, the startup has remained bootstrapped with a self-funding option. It has overpowered all the challenges successfully but bootstrapping is not at a good option for businesses like this who are in B2C and want to scale faster.

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Hotel.com Founder Inder Sharma Launches Hotelbids - A Last-Minute Hotel Bookings App

Hotelbids Hospitality Pvt Ltd, subsidiary of US Company Hotelbids, Inc. based in California, launched its much awaited App in India, with presence over 2500+ hotels in 69 cities. Response from the hotels was so positive that company registered all these hotels in just last 6 months.

Hotelbids - Stay@Your Price is an app (Android & iOS) that targets last-minute hotel bookings. The app is the brain child of Inder Sharma, a serial entrepreneur and founder of Hotel.com in 1996. Having been connected with the hospitality industry for over 20 years, he realized customers were not getting what they deserve. Hundreds of online travel agencies (OTAs) claim the best deals, even though the difference in price remains just few rupees. Every night approximately 1.7 million rooms go empty globally. This gap created a need for a platform which is both customer-centric (to get the best deal) and hotel-centric (to fill to capacity).

“Until now, customers had to go to various travel sites to hunt for the best price for the same room at the same hotel. Plus, no one site gives consistent rates. At Hotelbids, consumers don’t search, the search comes to them. They just set their price and the specifics desired, the rest comes to them,” says Inder Sharma President and Founder HotelBids.

To use this platform, a customer uses the app to request hotels in a particular city. This request is broadcast to all hotels in the Hotelbids network, which can respond immediately to accept the offer. Customers can then review the specifics of the hotel before making their decision. In this simple and transparent way, both hotels and customers win. It is a two click last minute room booking app.

Hotelbids, Inc is founded by serial entrepreneur Inder Sharma’s incubator iBOS, based in Los Angeles, California (USA), and Aneesh Chopra who is the CTO of the company with a development and marketing office in Gurugram (Haryana).

Mr. Sharma has founded over 13 companies including Hotel.com. Hotelbids is funded by hospitality professionals from the USA. Hotelbids is now a valued member of AAHOA (Asian American Hotel Owners Association), whose members collectively own approximately 23,000 hotels in US. In India, Hotelbids did a soft launch in July, 2016 and now the app is available at Google Play and App Store and plans to expand to major international markets soon. The company has begun the hotel registration process in United States and will launch in USA in January 2017.