Hospitality industry in Goa is rapidly changing with the entry of new players, namely Airbnb and Oyo. Over the past few years, both Airbnb and Oyo have revolutionised the hospitality industry. However, it has not been able to make a dent in the luxury class as all star hotels are having their clients.
Vincent Ramos, area director, Indian Hotels Company Limited (IHCL), Goa and General Manager of Taj Exotica Resort and Spa said, “Every business model has a market to cater. They have theirs and we have ours. Every stakeholder is happy in the end.”
More than just creating a people-powered technology platform, Airbnb has empowered millions around the world to become hospitality entrepreneurs by sharing unique, local experiences with travelers. Airbnb sees tremendous growth potential in India as travel to emerging economies is expected to increase at twice the rate of travel to advanced economies until 2030. Their biggest focus in India is to get more people acquainted to the value that Airbnb can add to their customers’ travel experiences, and to reap the benefits of home-sharing.
“We believe in constantly inspiring a new wave of travel experiences that encourage travellers to think beyond the templatised accommodation options, and expect more authentic trips. We have witnessed a phenomenal success in India. Airbnb has almost 50,000 listings on the platform in India, a 150 per cent increase since we launched our India business in May 2016,” Amanpreet Bajaj, country manager, Airbnb, India said.
Bajaj added that Goa is one of Airbnb’s fastest growing markets in India. Hospitality is an intrinsic part of the local culture in Goa and ties back to our belief of ‘Atithi Devo Bhava’. As one of the most sought after vacation destinations, Goa undoubtedly has a lot more in store for travellers, beyond its beautiful beaches. Airbnb not only offers its guests a wide selection of listings but also gives them an opportunity to discover, book and list unique accommodations like a 400-year-old Portuguese villa, luxurious apartment facing the sea or a heritage home with private beach in Goa and basic home-stay options for budget travellers.
“Airbnb is a global platform thus the small local players in the tourism space also get discovered on Airbnb. We take pride in witnessing a surge of 515 per cent in both, domestic and international bookings in Goa since 2015. This astounding growth has been benefitting the Goan community in a great way. Airbnb is fast becoming a platform that enables micro-entrepreneurship for homeowners all across the country. Not only does Airbnb widen the scope of what people have come to expect from travel stays but it is now a sustained mode of living for a lot of hosts; further contributing to the economic impact of home sharing wherein it enables travellers to spend on the local communities in Goa,” said Bajaj.
Since the launch of Oyo, back in 2013, Oyo Hotels and homes has brought about a change in the budget hotel franchising and leasing segment. Consumers who were earlier subjected to exploitation by touts, poor quality customer service and mostly unhygienic living spaces, now have the opportunity to experience standardised hospitality at affordable prices.
“The hospitality industry has seen significant changes over the years and with the entry of new players, the industry is constantly seeing new innovations that are helping deliver better customer experience and increase satisfaction. The integration of technology in the hospitality industry has enabled last-minute bookings, advanced offerings as well as high-quality service delivery. We identified that hospitality and real estate are broken categories and that there is a huge disconnect between demand and supply of quality living spaces, thereby forcing travelers and city-dwellers to compromise on location, quality, and price,” said an official spokesperson of Oyo in India.
He added that at Oyo, we used technology and talent to fix this problem and will continue with our mission of creating quality living spaces. “Currently, we have over 10,000 homes and villas across ten countries. In India, we have over 8700 leased and franchised buildings and over 1,76,000 rooms, with footprints in over 259 plus cities of which Goa is a very important market and is home to a large number of locked residential homes. We saw this as an untapped opportunity, wanted to offer the travelers a home-away-from-home feel and thus launched Oyo Home, India’s maiden home management system that offers beautiful private homes in great locations fully managed by Oyo and makes for a perfect choice for stay,” said the official spokesperson from Oyo.
With the rise of home-stay demand amongst the discerning travelers, it is felt by the industry that this category will grow manifold. With such varied offerings – Oyo Rooms, Oyo Townhouse, Oyo Home, Oyo Life, SilverKey and more, they are able to meet the demands of their guests who are mostly budgeted and young professionals. At Oyo, they ensure that they provide standardised and predictable experiences and thereby combine comfort, affordability, and reliability along with technology to offer guests hassle-free hospitality. Oyo is also using new technologies like artificial intelligence and machine learning, to enhance customer experience and come up with personalised solutions.
Lalita Correia Afonso chairperson of the Tourism Committee of GCCI is of the opinion that it is welcomed as all tourists have their choice.
“The major issue here in Goa is transportation. We have decent space to accommodate the tourists who could be in different categories but we need regulations on solid waste management and ensure that a visitor to Goa gets what they need and value for money spent,” added Afonso.
