<p>Online ‘concierge’ Stayzilla.com on Tuesday announced plans of foraying into foreign markets, in a bid to develop its customer base. <br /><br /></p>.<p>The company, which already boasts of 20,000 accommodation options and listings in India, on its website, has decided to tap markets in Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Southeast Asia and Africa in the future. <br /><br />Stayzilla is aiming to provide for 20,000 room nights by December this year, which translates to a business of Rs 75 crore of gross room night value, compared with Rs 15 crore earned last year, through 4,000 room nights.<br /><br />“We are a niche player in the ‘stay’ segment. In the last six months alone, we have succeeded in adding around 7,000 suppliers to our site, and have around five lakh registered users as well,” Stayzilla.com Chief Executive Officer Yogendra Vasupal said.<br /><br />Stayzilla earns its revenues by charging a 23 per cent commission from its accommodation suppliers. It keeps track of room availability through an automated extranet and its app for suppliers. <br /><br />Vasupal said, “We have details about our supplier inventory in our contract. The extranet and the app keeps us updated on our top 1,000 suppliers for the coming 44 days, thanks to which, we can confirm rooms for users.” <br />He added that of the 7,000 suppliers, only around 300 were not connected by technology, and require personal calls to update room availability.<br /><br />Raised $3.5 million<br />The company raised around $3.5 million from Matrix Partners last month, which will be used for some aggressive marketing to suppliers. “The aim is to get more accommodation providers onto our platform,” Vasupal said. <br /><br />Stayzilla works as an end-to-end online concierge and lists accommodation options on its site, through which users can book their stays. The site allows users to customise short stays at hotels and a host of other options. <br /><br />“The aim is to bring short-stay rental accommodation players such as hotels, lodges, guest houses, PG (paying guest) accommodations, and home stays in one platform, in touch with the end-user, the guest,” Vasupal said.<br /><br />Stayzilla is focused on the fragmented budget and value segment, and has not looked at any luxury chains. <br /><br />“The budget and value segment is huge, and growing. Of the Rs 90,000-crore short-stay accommodation market in India, around Rs 65,000 crore is held by the fragmented budget segment, which also involves unorganised players,” Vasupal said.<br />According to Vasupal, Indians annually take around a billion trips. Even if it meant spending 1.5 billion room nights in totality, only 300 million of it comprises paid accommodation. The remaining is usually of an obligatory nature, where travelers stay at relatives’ homes and so on. <br /><br />“This allows one to explore already invested capex options, such as homes, to be converted into short-stay products, to make up for the deficit. It would also mean additional income for the owner,” he said.<br /><br /></p>
<p>Online ‘concierge’ Stayzilla.com on Tuesday announced plans of foraying into foreign markets, in a bid to develop its customer base. <br /><br /></p>.<p>The company, which already boasts of 20,000 accommodation options and listings in India, on its website, has decided to tap markets in Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Southeast Asia and Africa in the future. <br /><br />Stayzilla is aiming to provide for 20,000 room nights by December this year, which translates to a business of Rs 75 crore of gross room night value, compared with Rs 15 crore earned last year, through 4,000 room nights.<br /><br />“We are a niche player in the ‘stay’ segment. In the last six months alone, we have succeeded in adding around 7,000 suppliers to our site, and have around five lakh registered users as well,” Stayzilla.com Chief Executive Officer Yogendra Vasupal said.<br /><br />Stayzilla earns its revenues by charging a 23 per cent commission from its accommodation suppliers. It keeps track of room availability through an automated extranet and its app for suppliers. <br /><br />Vasupal said, “We have details about our supplier inventory in our contract. The extranet and the app keeps us updated on our top 1,000 suppliers for the coming 44 days, thanks to which, we can confirm rooms for users.” <br />He added that of the 7,000 suppliers, only around 300 were not connected by technology, and require personal calls to update room availability.<br /><br />Raised $3.5 million<br />The company raised around $3.5 million from Matrix Partners last month, which will be used for some aggressive marketing to suppliers. “The aim is to get more accommodation providers onto our platform,” Vasupal said. <br /><br />Stayzilla works as an end-to-end online concierge and lists accommodation options on its site, through which users can book their stays. The site allows users to customise short stays at hotels and a host of other options. <br /><br />“The aim is to bring short-stay rental accommodation players such as hotels, lodges, guest houses, PG (paying guest) accommodations, and home stays in one platform, in touch with the end-user, the guest,” Vasupal said.<br /><br />Stayzilla is focused on the fragmented budget and value segment, and has not looked at any luxury chains. <br /><br />“The budget and value segment is huge, and growing. Of the Rs 90,000-crore short-stay accommodation market in India, around Rs 65,000 crore is held by the fragmented budget segment, which also involves unorganised players,” Vasupal said.<br />According to Vasupal, Indians annually take around a billion trips. Even if it meant spending 1.5 billion room nights in totality, only 300 million of it comprises paid accommodation. The remaining is usually of an obligatory nature, where travelers stay at relatives’ homes and so on. <br /><br />“This allows one to explore already invested capex options, such as homes, to be converted into short-stay products, to make up for the deficit. It would also mean additional income for the owner,” he said.<br /><br /></p>
