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3-star hotels drive 50 per cent online bookings in India within the tariff slab of Rs 1,500-Rs 3,500, according to a travel report. The affordable average price point and online availability are the key reasons for travellers opting for this category of hotels, the report by online travel portal Goibibo said.
The report also shares insights on average price points of various star rated hotels, break down of leisure versus business hotels booked online, customer segments and top destinations for business hotel bookings.
While leisure hotels are found to comprise of 56.41 per cent bookings, business hotels fall slightly back at 43.59 per cent. Bangalore is found to be the busiest business travel destination due to more online visibility of hotels from this city followed by Mumbai and Hyderabad. SMEs and individuals clearly outrival corporates in terms of driving these bookings. “This is because SMEs are the most price-conscious segment and are seeing value in booking online,” the report said. Also, they get transparent information and better value than the intermediary channels.
The report also captures qualitative aspects such as top factors that make people unhappy during their stay and also the important elements that travellers look forward to from a hotel. Extra beds, health forceps, kids’ area and food preferences in terms of vegetarian or non-vegetarian make up the most common hotel requirements that guests demand. On the other hand, unhygienic bathrooms, uncomfortable bed mattresses and external noise factors seem to distress guests most often.
According to industry reports, hotels is the fastest growing vertical in the online travel business. 3-star and below segment of hotels have the largest and the most fragmented supply in India. It is this fragmentation that creates huge opportunity for driving e-commerce between thousands of these hotels and travellers.
Ashish Kashyap, CEO, ibibo group said, “Hotels is one of the fastest growing segment for Goibibo. There is a lot of headroom for growth in this segment with the ecosystems getting established.”
nivedita.ganguly@thehindu.co.in
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