Over 400 properties with 10,000 rooms across 85 cities, Sidharth Gupta, co-founder, Treebo is looking to double the network size in the next 12 months.

SIDHARTH GUPTA, co-founder of Treebo, a tech-enabled asset-light budget hotel brand was founded with an objective to enhance the travel experience of a budget traveller by offering high-quality, value-for-money accommodation options.

“In 2015, the $10 billion worth Indian budget hotel segment already had a few existing traditional hotel chains like Ginger Hotels and Lemon Tree but they weren’t truly budget. The price of an average room night in these hotels was over INR 3500. An average budget traveller doesn’t want to spend more than INR 2000 per night for a comfortable stay. And the new start-ups that had come into existence recently didn’t solve the problem of ‘quality of experience’ that the customers expect at that price point. That’s when me and my cofounders – Kadam and Rahul – learnt about the challenges of a traveller looking for value-for-money options and we started Treebo,” said Gupta.

As per the latest World Economic Forum’s Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report, India ranks 15 amongst the top 40 global tourist destinations, but still scored a mere 2.7 on tourist service infrastructure, a pillar that measures the availability and the quality of key tourism services such as quality accommodation in the country. This is a huge indication of the quality of services offered by the hotel industry today and the scope of development for the budget segment.

“We are building Treebo as India’s most loved hotel chain that offers its guests an unmatched experience by fulfilling their expectations— spotless linen, free Wi-Fi, complimentary breakfast, friendly and prompt service, branded toiletries – and by ensuring the world-class hospitality at value for money,” added Gupta.

Treebo focusses on ensuring the quality of experience that its guests have across its 400+ properties in over 85 cities. Every new initiative undertaken, and innovative technology solution developed is aimed at delivering a delightful experience for the guest.

Today, Treebo Hotels is the largest budget hotel chain with over 400 properties, 10,000 rooms across 85 cities. “We are looking to double this network size over the next 12-18 months. We recently launched our premium category offering ‘Treebo Select’ for travellers looking for service quality, amenities and experience of a 4-star hotel. We aim to add 50 properties under the Select brand by end of this year and continue to focus on delivering delightful travel experience by adding value to our customers. We will soon be announcing the launch of a new service line that will add to the experience of the guests staying with Treebo,” he said.

For Treebo, 2018 started with a bang! With its first brand campaign ‘Perfect Stay or Don’t Pay’, Treebo has invested in the outdoor campaign to make the most of the travel season and reiterating confidence to be able to deliver a high-quality experience repeatedly across its empanelled hotels. “We also acquired Bengaluru-based travel start-up Events High, which operates an online discovery platform for local events and activities. This acquisition will help us further our cause of offering delightful experiences to travellers. Apart from accommodation, these activities are an integral part of a traveller’s experience,. By providing access to local events, we could supplement our core offering and truly move further to become the most-loved travel brand for customers,” he added. Events High, which has over 1.5 million unique visitors on its website, will leverage Treebo’s reach across 75 cities for further expansion.

Discussing about the investment in building innovative and superior technology products for supply as well as consumers, Gupta has filed patents for quality management system, Prowl, that predicts the guest experience at multiple touch points in a property. “Prowl has been instrumental in managing the Treebo standards of quality stay experience. We are working on products that will cater to the developing needs of our guests,” he informed.

For Treebo, the strongest six markets include Bangalore, Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Pune and Chennai with a strong supply built in these regions over the last 2 years and the demand is driven primarily through the corporate demand. 

Last August, Treebo had raised $34 million in a Series-C round led by Hong Kong-based investors and follow-on venture capital firms SAIF, Matrix and Bertelsmann. So Gupta is using the capital raised during the last round in enhancing customer experience, building a stronger brand, strengthening its technology team, and expanding footprint in existing and new cities. “We have some mass market campaigns lined up for the year. An increased focus on the repeats and supply-side innovation are the other key focus areas. True to our core philosophy, we’ll craft better product and tech experiences for our consumers and offer them great stay experiences,” he said.

However, Gupta revealed the next phase of the journey. “We have the best minds working towards the growth of the brand, steadily treading towards becoming the most loved hotel chain in the country. This year, we will focus on building an overall impact on every traveller’s experience with Treebo,” he said.