hotel roomImage Credit source: FREE PIK
The traditional model of hotel booking in India is changing rapidly. Whereas earlier passengers had to pay the fare for the whole day even for a few hours, now many online platforms are providing rooms for a few hours as per the need. This model is called ‘short-stay’ or ‘hourly stay’. The changing needs of passengers and increasing penetration of technology-based booking platforms are playing an important role behind this trend. Today thousands of hotels in more than 50 cities of the country are offering this facility. Let us understand about it in complete detail. Let’s talk about all its important aspects.
Short-stay platform Bag2Bag started from a real travel experience. According to an ET report, the company’s founder wanted a hotel room only for six hours during a trip, but the hotel demanded full day rent and ultimately refused to provide the room. This experience made him realize the need for a more flexible hotel booking model in India. Started in 2019, the company today works with more than 10,000 properties, out of which the facility of overnight stay is available in more than 6,000 places. According to the company, the revenue of its overnight stay business has increased manifold in the last few years.
The market is growing rapidly
Apart from Bag2Bag, platforms like Brevistay, MiStay, Hourly Rooms and Qwiksta are also active in this sector. Big travel companies have also started offering hourly booking option. Brevistay also started with the same problem of passengers. In the initial years, it was challenging to convince hotel owners for this model, but gradually they started understanding its business benefits. Today the company has millions of registered users and thousands of hotels are connected to its platform.
Use extended beyond couples
In the initial period, short-stay was mainly seen in relation to the needs of couples. However, with time there has been a big change in its image. Now business travelers, passengers waiting between flights or trains, candidates giving interviews, students going for exams, professionals attending meetings and families are also using this facility. Industry experts say that the scope of use by customers is continuously increasing and this is the biggest success of this model.
Hotel owners are also seeing benefits
The short-stay model has opened up a new avenue of earning for hotels. Rooms usually remain vacant for several hours between check-out in the morning and new check-in in the evening. With the help of hourly booking, hotels are also able to utilize this free time. Hotels located near airports and railway stations are getting the most benefit from this. Hotels can significantly increase their income by offering a room to different customers during the day and night.
Technology made the path easier
Initially, hotel owners found the process of frequent check-in and check-out complicated. But now hotel management systems and channel managers have started supporting slot based booking. Due to this, hotels are able to easily manage the availability of rooms and customers are also getting the facility of instant booking.
Rating agencies are also seeing strength
The growing trend of short-stays has come at a time when the Indian hospitality sector itself is going through a period of strong growth. Rating agency ICRA estimates that the income of the Indian hotel industry may increase by 6-8 percent in the financial year 2026. According to the agency, the occupancy of premium hotels may remain around 72-74 percent and the average room rent is also expected to remain strong. ICRA believes that domestic tourism, business travel, weddings, conferences and MICE activities will keep the demand for the hotel industry strong.
CareEdge Ratings has said in its report that the continuous growth in domestic tourism and corporate travel is a positive sign for the hotel industry. The agency believes that the industry’s earnings may remain better due to limited new hotel supply and strong demand. CRISIL Ratings has also expressed a positive outlook for the Indian hospitality sector. According to the agency, increasing travel activities, strong demand from the premium hotel segment and better occupancy will support the growth of the industry in the coming years.
Challenges still remain
Although this sector is expanding rapidly, some challenges still exist. Social hesitation, concerns over security, apprehensions of some hotels regarding brand image and lack of awareness among travelers are the major challenges faced by the industry. Apart from this, many times operational complications also arise due to the coming and going of many customers in the same room throughout the day.
Experts believe that due to the boom in domestic tourism, increasing mix of business and leisure travel, changing mindset of young travelers and increasing penetration of digital booking platforms, the short-stay market may grow further in the coming years. Just as the pay-as-you-go model became popular in the transportation sector, similarly the “pay-for-use” model is being increasingly accepted in the hotel industry too. This is why short-stay is no longer being seen as an optional facility, but as an emerging main trend of the hospitality industry.
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