:
MakeMyTrip to increase rental footprint in India
Reading Time: 2 minutesUS / India: Online travel aggregator MakeMyTrip [MMT] is set to grow its short-term rental footprint in India as it plans to add more than 10,000 villas, private properties and apartments in the next 12 months. According to a Mint report, company executives are seeking to compete with Airbnb, Indian travel aggregators and startups, including […]
Airbnb identifies Hindi and other native languages as key booking drivers
Reading Time: 2 minutesIndia: Airbnb has announced it is integrating Hindi into its platform and doubling the number of languages available in which hosts and guests can utilise Airbnb. The reasoning for introducing Hindi is to make the platform accessible to a wider demographic of travellers, including four billion speakers of 62 languages who will be able to […]
OYO Hotels & Homes debuts complimentary insurance cover
Reading Time: 3 minutesIndia: OYO Hotels & Homes has announced a first-of-its-kind offering for its customers with complimentary insurance cover for guests as part of the booking price for staying in OYO properties in India. The brand, which is India’s largest and the world’s third largest and fastest-growing chain of leased and franchised hotels, homes, living and workspaces, […]
Airbnb set to double investments in Indian market
Reading Time: < 1 minuteAsia: Airbnb has hinted it will double its marketing investments in India to grow its presence in the regional Asian market. At last month’s Skift Forum in Singapore, the firm’s Asia-Pacific (APAC) regional director Siew Kum Hong revealed that the number of listings on Airbnb in India’s market have risen by 150 per cent in […]
SaffronStays reveals Dubai expansion plans for 2020
Reading Time: < 1 minuteIndia: Indian vacation rental platform SaffronStays has revealed its plans for expansion into Dubai over the next 12 months. Arabian Business reported that the company “hopes to have 600 properties on its platform by 2020 as part of an international expansion that will include Dubai”. SaffronStays founder Devendra Parulekar told Times of India: “For the […]
Indian alternative accommodation market on the rise
Reading Time: 3 minutesIndia: Online travel platform Booking.com has reported that India has surged in popularity as one of its fastest growing markets for alternative accommodations. The Amsterdam-based company has over 880,000 listings in India, of which about 140,000 are considered ‘alternative accommodation’, such as homestays, apartments, villas, BnBs, cabins, boats and treehouses. Hotspots such as Kerala, Karnataka […]
Airbnb plans “aggressive investments” in China and India
Reading Time: 2 minutesChina / India: Airbnb will be making “aggressive investments” in emerging markets like China and India after a huge spike in guests and listing numbers in both countries from 2017 to 2018. The homesharing platform’s reasoning for last year’s 131 per cent growth in guests in China, and 65 per cent in India, was a […]
Airbnb to train 15,000 female hospitality entrepreneurs in India
Reading Time: < 1 minuteIndia: Airbnb has announced a first-time partnership with the Digital Empowerment Foundation to train up to 15,000 potential women hospitality entrepreneurs in India. Co-founder and chief strategy officer, Nathan Blecharczyk, made the announcement as a statement of Airbnb’s vision to identify India’s high potential. The company also wants to promote lesser known rural tourism destinations […]
OYO enters into joint venture with Yahoo! Japan
Reading Time: 2 minutesIndia: Indian hotels leasing and franchising chain OYO Hotels & Homes has entered into a joint venture with Yahoo! Japan to launch OYO Technology & Hospitality Company. OYO’s popular housing rental product from India, OYO Living, will now be renamed as OYO LIFE and the company says it will begin its operations from March. It […]
Airbnb unveils Plus Homes service in India
Reading Time: < 1 minuteIndia: Airbnb has announced the introduction of its Plus Homes range in India, which it claims will be synonymous with “both quality and design”. Airbnb Plus has been unveiled as a range featuring “high calibre” Airbnb homes. All Plus Homes are visited in person and verified against a detailed inspection checklist, therefore ensuring greater comfort […]