NightStay, a mobile-based marketplace for last-minute hotel bookings, is looking to raise a pre-Series A round worth $1-2 million by next month.

Founder and CEO Nasr Khan told BusinessLine that the start-up will use these funds to expand to more cities and for technology upgrade. In August 2015, it had raised $500,000 in seed funding. NightStay fills a unique gap in the hospitality industry. The start-up has tied up with luxury hotel chains and boutique properties wherein hotels can offer unsold rooms at discounted rates to last-minute travellers via the NightStay app.

“The hotel industry see 60-per cent occupancy. What about the rest 40 per cent unsold rooms? We aim to monetise the unsold inventory by offering discounted deals to travellers,” Khan said.

‘Last-minute travel’ This, in turn, helps upscale hotels sell their expired/excess inventory while the consumer avails discount. “We are primarily targeting the deal seeker on the back of increased last-minute travel behaviour,” he added.

The company gets 60-70 bookings a day with an average ticket size of ₹4,500, Khan said. “Fifty-nine per cent of our business comes from small and medium enterprises which, unlike big businesses, don’t have a travel desk. A significant 39-per cent business comes from travellers who opt for stay-cations.”

On expansion plans, he said that company is present in 14 cities currently and aims to take this to 30 cities. Going forward, NightStay is also working towards ensuring 24x7 operations for the traveller’s convenience. It also aims to break even in the next three months.

Related Topics
comment COMMENT NOW