Yatra Challenges Oyo, Stayzilla, AirBnB With Their Own Branded Rooms & Homestays; Prices Start From Rs 499

Relatively niche homestays and branded rooms market in India has just got a new competitor; which is powerful enough to disrupt the eco-system

India’s #2 largest travel portal: Yatra.com will now offer branded rooms and homestays across 1000+ Indian cities, and their prices start from Rs 499 per night.

This makes them directly in competition with existing players in this segment: Oyo Rooms, Stayzilla and AirBnB (which is world’s #1 homestay provider)

This new service offering has been made with TravelGuru, which was acquired by Yatra in 2012.

In a move which has sent ripples across the travel sector, Yatra has strategically created two options for travelers in India: TG Rooms and TG Stays. While TG Rooms are branded hotel accommodation across 60 cities and has been targeted for budget travelers; TG Stays are verified home stays (also called bread and breakfast in some countries), across 1000 cities.

As per Yatra, they have now a combined database of 40,000+ verified homestays and branded hotel rooms across 1100 major Indian cities.

As per Sharat Dhall, president, Yatra.com, TG Stays would be branded for the new-age traveler in India, who is out venturing for short, random vacations, weekend gateways and road trips into unknown territories. In case a particular home owner doesn’t have any staff to manage the guests, Yatra will even provide them with a caretaker.

Meanwhile TG Rooms would offer low-cost quality accommodation across budget hotels, with assurance of free WiFi, breakfast, air-conditioning, neat and clean ambiance and free cancellation policy.

He said, “Travellers need an assurance especially when it comes to budget accommodation and we are doing exactly that – curating the best budget options, standardizing the experience and providing assurance by lending the Travelguru brand to them.”

Both of these options can be booked either via Yatra.com portal or via TravelGuru; and in some holiday packages, this branded rooms and homestays have already been integrated. Soon, they will offer their accommodation options to all their holiday package customers and online visitors who book their tickets from their portal.

This recent branching of Yatra into branded hotel rooms and homestays is a natural extension of their travel related services; and in some way an excellent strategic move. Besides competing against Oyo and Stayzilla, TG Rooms and TG Stays will also compete against Goibibo’s recently launched GoStays platform for home stays.

All eyes are now set on MakeMyTrip, which is India’s largest travel portal, to make the next move. If they jump into this sector, then we can be assured of some major fireworks, for sure.

If you are traveling out of your city, which provider will you choose now: Oyo, Stayzilla, AirBnB or Yatra? Do share your views and experiences by commenting right here!