In India, on an average, hotel occupancy stands at only 60 per cent, while the rest 40 per cent of rooms go vacant. With the travel industry booming, there is a demand in the hotel sector. What most don’t know is that even with this demand a lot of hoteliers face huge losses. This is where RoomsTonite comes in. Launched in 2014 by Suresh John, Founder of RoomsTonite and Group Chairman of IDS Group, this mobile-only app helps travellers find rooms at the last minute and at affordable prices. “There are millions of such opportunities in India. With this app we aim to close the gap between the supply and demand,” says Karthick Prabhu, Co-founder and Chief Product Officer, RoomsTonite.
RoomsTonite lets the app user search for rooms and book them right away. You could book a hotel for a four-day stay with the app. When RoomsTonite first started out, hoteliers understood the concept of the app and the response they received was very positive, says Karthick. “They considered this as an additional revenue channel and now after more than eight months, we have been going strong and have tied up with over 600 hotels across 100 destinations in the country,” he says. Some of their tie-ups are with the Le Meridien Group of Hotels, Lalith Ashok, Bangalore, Hotel Royal Orchid, Bangalore, The Pride Hotels and Zuri Hotels and Resorts. They have also established connections with regional hotels across 120+ locations in various cities.
RoomsTonite works on a commission based model. So for every booking that they send to their hotel partners, the company takes a commission. “Our experience with RoomsTonite is positively challenging. I was into its development and it got marketed through the right channels.” RoomsTonite is available on Android and iOS platforms. “We are in the testing stage for Windows and Blackberry,” says Karthick. You can log on to www.roomstonite.com to check out their offers. You can also download their app through Google play and iTunes.
kaviya@newindianexpress.com