The Chennai-based Stayzilla, an online marketplace providing hotel stays, is strengthening its presence in the alternative stay segment such as home stay. As part of the move, it is looking to on-board around 5,00,000 rooms on its platform within next three years. At present Stayzilla offers around 25,000 rooms through its alternative stay segment through more than 4,000 properties. The company also feels that with the surge in travel in the country, there is a shortage of about 1 million rooms in India. “India is facing shortage of rooms for travellers and this is another reason why we want to sell more alternative stay options for travellers. Today, India’s stay market is large and fragmented with shortage of close to 10,00,000 rooms in the country, creating a huge opportunity for expansion and growth,” said Yogendra Vasupal, Founder and CEO, Stayzilla. With the focus moving to alternative stays, Stayzilla, is looking at Airbnb’s business model, who is the global leader in the segment. Stayzilla has launched its mobile application that will cater to both homeowners and travellers looking for differentiated and unique stay experiences. With the application, Stayzilla will allow homeowners to choose guest on various parameters such as common interests, educational and professional connections. The company, which started providing stay options since 2010, have presence in 4,500 town and sells around 35,000 properties through its platform. In February, Stayzilla raised around $20 million in Series B round of funding led by Nexus Venture Partners, which also witnessed participation from existing investor Matrix Partners India. The company also said as part of its new strategy, it host hotel chains such as Ginger, Lemon Tree, Treebo, Zo Rooms and Zip among others on its platform in couple of months. You have reached your limit for free articles this month. Register to The Hindu for free and get unlimited access for 30 days. Find mobile-friendly version of articles from the day's newspaper in one easy-to-read list. Enjoy reading as many articles as you wish without any limitations. A select list of articles that match your interests and tastes. Move smoothly between articles as our pages load instantly. A one-stop-shop for seeing the latest updates, and managing your preferences. We brief you on the latest and most important developments, three times a day. Not convinced? Know why you should pay for news. *Our Digital Subscription plans do not currently include the e-paper ,crossword, iPhone, iPad mobile applications and print. Our plans enhance your reading experience.
Stayzilla, a marketplace that offers rooms at serviced apartments and hotels across India, is following the Airbnb concept of allowing home owners to let their properties to travellers in the country. The Chennai-based company expects the alternate accommodation space introduced by Airbnb to take off in India over the next few years, as more travellers look at affordable and comfortable stays in remote corners of the country. “We are seeing an increase in demand for these types of accommodations from people who want to stay close to nature but also have access to amenities like Wi-Fi or even cable TV,” said Rahul Gupta, co-founder "We are a marketplace for rooms. Now, we have become booking plus the Airbnb model of working," said Yogendra Vasupal, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Stayzilla.