There is a new wave of venture backed startups that are tackling the accommodation problem from a deeper point of view. They are building properties, rebranding them, and converting rooms to ensure quality for the end user. Backed by VCs, all these companies are pushing for scale.
According to a report, the mobile travel booking and advertising market is speculated to reach $400 million+ by 2017.
They are in their early stage and if they succeed, they will have transformed an industry for the better. So here are the list of 5 accommodation startups which are off to a flying start in 2016,
1. Savvymob
Savvymob was founded in April 2014 by Bikram Sohal and Gappan Annamalai, SavvyMob is an on-demand mobile marketplace which offers unsold hotel inventory to last minute travellers at the lowest price. The startup’s target customers are SMEs and independent travellers. It claims of helping them save up to 20% on their hotels costs.
The startup had raised $1 million in its seed funding round this January. The funding was led by T V Mohandas Pai, along with the participation of LetsVenture, an online platform for fundraising.
2. RedDoorz
Founded by Amit Saberwal and Kumar Asheesh Saxena in July 2015, RedDoorz, is a network of almost 500 standardised accommodation in India and South-East Asia. It provides budget hotel owners access to expert advice and assistance to standardise their offering and directly distribute online via RedDoorz platform.
This January, the startup, had raised an undisclosed amount of pre-series A round of funding from 500Startups.
3. Roadhouse
Roadhouse was co-founded in 2014 by a group of three school friends – Uday Jhamb, Shubham Garg and Rajesh Borah with their first hostel starting its operations in Goa in November 2014. It offers air-conditioned dormitories with bunk beds and private rooms.
Goa based chain of backpackers’ hostel, has secured an undisclosed amount of investment from Indian Angel Network. The startup is mainly focused areas include Safety, Comfort and Ubercool. For the company, security of their customers is a prime concern and so they have installed cameras and electronic entry for guests.
4. Room On Call
Founded in 2015 by Pradeep Sajjan, Amit Goel, Nirupma Dhawan, Room On Call is a hospitality brand of Neocell Technologies India Ltd. It helps travellers to discover and book budget accommodations through web and app. Customers can also book by calling its helpline number. In addition, Room On Call serves as a platform for hotels to promote their properties online.
In March, Room On Call had raised $2 million (around Rs 13.3 crore) in funding led by on-vehicle advertising company CASHurDRIVE Marketing Pvt Ltd.
5. QiK Stay
Founded in June 2015 by Jasveer Singh along with a group of hospitality experts, the company was earlier known as ZoZo Stay, and has now re-branded as QiK Stay. It wants to provide premium quality hotels at affordable prices, and a unique standardized experience with ease of booking.
Delhi-based budget hotel branding and aggregator startup is planning to add around 800 hotels and expand to 50 new cities across the country this year. The company currently has over 200 hotels with an inventory of around 3,000 rooms in 50 cities.
