Stayzilla, the online aggregator of budget and home stays, is in talks with investors to raise about Rs 385 crore as it aims to expand the “alternate stays” category in India which includes options such as home stays. Stayzilla is an online marketplace that individuals to research and reserve hotels across India. Stayzilla was founded in August 2005. Stayzilla’s Headquarters are located at No.2, 4th floor, Rams Swathi Towers, Durgabhai Deshmukh Road, Chennai. According to sources, the company is negotiating with private equity major Warburg Pincus and two other investors.
A new round of financing is on the offering which comes six months after Stayzilla received an investment of Rs 125 crore in February. This also will see participation from existing investors Matrix Partners and Nexus Venture Partners. The funds will be used to expand to new cities, develop a stronger brand platform and work with accommodation owners to accelerate the growth of the emerging structured and alternate accommodations market in India, which includes hotels, home stays, guest houses, resorts, B&B’s, jungle lodges, boat houses, paying guests, etc.
With a good team, processes and technology aspects at work, Stayzilla is keen on offering a wholesome customer experience in addition to driving incremental volumes for home stays and small stay properties alike and offers a unique concierge service to ensure a simplified and enriched experience even in the smallest of hotels and towns. Reports in media also suggest that the company is recording a near eightfold growth with gross booking revenues on an annualised basis estimated at $45-$50 million. Stayzilla booked 4,000 rooms a day in December 2014 and aims to increase this to 20,000 by December 2015.
Stayzilla currently has around 40,000 properties on its network. The company is most bullish on the home stays segment, where it has been conducting campaigns and meetings across cities encouraging home owners to open up spare rooms. Stayzilla plans to have over 10,000 home stays exclusively on the platform. Hotel and holiday packages are increasingly becoming a large category in the Indian online travel space.
