In January this year, India Brand Equity Foundation (IBEF) reported that tourism in India accounts for 7.5 per cent of the GDP and is the third largest foreign exchange earner for the country”. This sector includes the hospitality industry and is expected to generate US$160.2 billion by 2026.
IBEF is a Trust established by the Department of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India. It says, “Tourism is also a potentially large employment generator besides being a significant source of foreign exchange for the country.” And this is evident in the number of startups who have changed the way room inventories are traded in the hospitality sector. They have brought value to customers looking to book rooms at the last minute, for short stays, or comfortably without burning a hole in their pockets. The focus is on the customers’ needs, thus tailoring results to give you exactly what you desire, straight up, by filtering out anything that may not match your interest.
Here is a look at three such Indian ventures that have addressed different needs of travellers and are bringing changes to the conventional hotel-booking model.
LAST MINUTE
I had to urgently fly to Kolkata in two days, and desired a reasonable room rate despite booking last minute. A minimum 4-star hotel category located in Newtown was my criterion. And so, with little hope, I logged on to findmystay.com.
As opposed to a flexible rate of ₹14,994 inclusive of breakfast and taxes offered by Novotel Kolkata Hotel and Residences, I bid ₹7,000-₹9,000 for the same room on findmystay.com. Within an hour my email beeped with a confirmation for ₹7,423, inclusive of taxes and breakfast, for Novotel’s Superior room.
The online bidding portal that launched in 2013 draws attention to the large inventory of hotel rooms, from budget to luxury, which remain unoccupied every day, pan-India. Using this to the customer’s advantage, the website says it lets potential hotel guests choose their room price, rather than present pre-negotiated room rates to them. “It’s a win-win. The hotels get to sell their unsold inventory and the customers get to experience luxury and comfort for less. You can call it disruption of its kind. We call it our job.”
Currently, findmystay.com has liaised with about 2,500 hotels in 32 Indian cities, including Agra, Bengaluru, Chennai, Goa, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai, New Delhi, Puducherry, Pune and Udaipur. Courtyard Marriott, Double Tree by Hilton, Four Points, Hyatt, ITC, Le Meridien, Radisson Blu, The Oberoi and Trident are some of the hospitality brands that are listed on this “reverse bidding” portal.
Reverse bidding means getting a quote from the customer which he or she is willing to pay for the service on offer. The “agent” then passes the bid to the seller who either agrees or makes a final counter-offer. It is this concept that got the then US-based startup Priceline.com, listed on NASDAQ. The startup launched as Name Your Own Price in 1997 and today it has a market value of over US$75 billion.
The landing page of findmystay.com asks you to choose your destination, check-in/check out dates and number of guests and rooms. The next step narrows your search down to a specific area(s), preferred hotel category and a bid-range. A certain “Bargain Baba” promises to revert within 48 hours from pushing the search button. It then emails you a status of your bid, with those hotels that are still in negotiations and those who have declared their final price.
SHORT STAY
If the need is even more pressing than a last minute booking — a hotel room for a few hours — 6hourly.com that launched in end-2015 caters to exactly this requirement. Founder Seetharaman N says, “There is a good volume of guests who are looking for short stay offers. 6hourly.com effectively targets same day return passengers, transit passengers, those travelling to attend concerts, trade fairs, and even those who need a quick shower before heading to a meeting. Today’s demanding lifestyle has generated such customers who need short stay rooms for a variety of reasons such as a makeshift office space for a few hours or a bed for the jet-lagged seeking rest between meetings. The trend for micro stays in India is growing as the awareness for such needs are understood.”
Devinder Kumar, the general manager of revenue management and distribution at Lemon Tree Hotels, whose company is a partner of 6hourly.com confirms this: “Most guests who avail our “day use” rooms are usually travelling for business or work. They arrive before scheduled meetings and use these rooms to refresh and change for their important appointment. Another set of guests who visit us are transient passengers either looking for a comfortable accommodation to unwind before catching a flight or a train or breaking a long journey to rest and loosen up, before heading onwards to their destination.”
At 6hourly.com, you pick the port of disembarkation, enter your check-in date and time and pick from “6 Hours Pack”, “12 Hours Pack”, “18 Hours Pack”, “24+ Hours Pack” or “Tonight”. The advantage is that room rates are cheaper for shorter hours (starting from six hours) and check-in/check out timings are flexible.
The hotel inventory on 6hourly.com is scarce though when narrowed down to each city, throwing up no more than three options for most locations. However, Seetharaman says, “Our initial response was slow as our publicity largely relied on word of mouth, but now we’re witnessing a growth of over 200 per cent in our month-on-month reports.”
The portal has partnered with other notable brands too such as Le Meridien, Howard Johnson, Radisson Blu, and The Park in addition to local ones (3-star upwards) in 27 Indian cities who see a potential in offering their rooms for short stays. Speaking about why such partnerships are beneficial to hotels, Kumar adds, “At most of our business properties, 60 per cent to 70 per cent of departures happen early morning. There are thus, vacant rooms available during the day hours (10am-2 pm). Hence, we see benefit in partnering with platforms like 6hourly.com to better our penetration and reach. We have currently engaged them in select cities only.”
The hospitality brand has also partnered with other websites such as between9and5.com to promote its concept of “day use” rooms. “Besides this we have also developed this functionality on our website lemontreehotels.com,” says Kumar.
LOYALTY TO MANY
Preferred Hotels & Resorts represents a “diverse global portfolio of independent hotels”. This means, members of iPrefer, its points-based loyalty programme, aren’t restricted to one type of service coalesced across the chain, but can enjoy a change from one brand culture to another. Having said that, each of these member hotels must conform to “Preferred Standards of Excellence” set by the hospitality brand to ensure satisfaction to its member guests. Enabling this are anonymous site inspections carried out by third-party assessors.
The hotels and resorts are categorised into five Preferred Collections: Legend, “globally recognised and award-winning hotels”; LVX, “hotels and resorts in coveted locations”; Lifestyle, “a premium level of service, superior accommodations, and diverse dining options”; Connect, “smart, eclectic, and friendly hotels”; and Residences, from beachfront properties to quiet countryside cottages, are luxury holiday homes.
iPrefer offers two membership tiers. “Insider” is the lower of the two tiers, the other being “Elite”. For every US$1 spend, exclusive of taxes and charges, an Insider guest earns ten, while 15 points are rewarded to the Elite guest. Other benefits include room upgrade, free upgrade, early check-in, late check out, and redemption of points for free room nights, dining and spa services. These can be availed by redeeming points for cash-value iPrefer Reward Certificates.
While generally, points earned expire after 24 months of inactive membership, thus forfeiting all accumulated points in the account, iPrefer Reward Certificates are valid until they are redeemed. They are delivered to members via email with a security code that is scanned either in its hard form or electronically by the hotel for verification and acceptance. This secures your points, irrespective of how long you choose to encash them. preferredhotels.com/iprefer
BUDGET TRAVEL
Not so long before this concept, OYO launched in 2013 with 11 rooms in one hotel in Gurugram. Its prime focus isn’t on hotels’ unsold inventory or the lack thereof. The aim here is to partner with non-branded hotels, apartments and home-stays and help them deliver clean and comfortable rooms to travellers.
It all began when OYO’s founder, Ritesh Agarwal spent a year experiencing inexpensive options, and concluded that most budget hotels are not equipped with even the fundamentals for a decent stay. While brands such as Ginger, ibis, Keys and Sarovar have recently entered the market with basic facilities and clean rooms at pocket-friendly rates, Agarwal says that the budget segment is yet to be tapped to its full potential.
This “branded network of hotels” partners with various accommodation types and homogenises them across 30 parameters. These include free wifi (wherever available) and breakfast, flat screen TVs, clean beds, quality toiletries, air-conditioning, six-inch shower heads, clear signage, 24-hour assistance, credit card payment option, and so on. Further, there is a detailed 150-point checklist that hotels need to meet before being welcomed aboard the OYO platform. It does this by training on-site staff and sourcing room amenities for hotels when necessary. Every few days OYO officers visit its partner establishments to ensure that the quality promised to customers remains intact.
Today, with over 70,000 rooms in 6,500 hotels across 226 cities in India and Malaysia, OYO is the largest chain of budget hotels in India. The launch of its mobile app in April 2015 makes it easier to book rooms instantly. Further, room service can be directly ordered through the app, a feature more common at upscale hotel chains, in addition to calling a taxi (Ola and Uber), locating nearby restaurants, and realtime navigation to the hotel from your current location.
Last year in June “OYO for Business” featured on the app and website with rooms spread across 6,000 hotels in 180 Indian cities. The platform allows easy bulk bookings and travel-expense management too. Before the launch, OYO invited 1,600 companies (such as Citibank, Sony, Ranbaxy, Capgemini, L&T, ZOmato and Snapdeal) to participate in the six-month testing period. Results showed an average savings of 30 per cent on their travel-related expenses. Currently, OYO’s top clients include ITC, Bharti Airtel, HCL Technologies, Tech Mahindra, and Ernst & Young amongst the 1,500 with a “recurring demand” for OYO rooms, making up 20 per cent of OYO’s monthly clientele.
Room rates start from ₹999-₹1,999 for budget,₹2,000-₹3,499 for premium, and up to ₹6,000 for the elite room categories. They’re cheaper for bulk bookings and tariffs may be higher during peak season and last-minute booking.
Another addition, OYO Townhouse launched in January 2017 and is positioned as a friendly neighbourhood hotel that is targeted at millennials. Agarwal says, “Townhouse will operate as a hotel, community hotspot, cafe and merchandise store – to deliver an all-encompassing experience to guests.” Designed as a lifestyle concept, rooms are more luxurious with blackout curtains, free high-speed internet throughout the property, wooden flooring and smart televisions with a variety of movies and TV shows available on demand. The lounge area makes for an informal meeting space where a white board, printer, stationery and other business centre facilities are available round the clock. Staff training is more vigorous, ensuring that “price, convenience and a differentiated experience play an important role” in creating a stay for millennials who would prefer the flexibility “to switch seamlessly from work to play”.
