Paytm has launched domestic hotel booking service and will be investing Rs 500 crore for scaling its operations and expanding the portfolio. The company has also acquired Nightstay, a luxury hotel-booking platform for an undisclosed amount. In the first phase of the launch, the company has partnered with over 5000 hotels across the budget, luxury and business segments. These include the Zuri, Sarovar, Treebo, Vresorts, Sterling, Ginger and Bloomrooms across top cities. With the acquisition, Paytm will leverage Nightstay’s acumen to further expand its portfolio in this vertical. Nasr Khan, founder, NightStay will be leading this category at Paytm and will be responsible for the overall growth and development as well. Paytm Travel, which had started in 2014, sells over 60 million tickets a year, and has become the leading player for IRCTC tickets, bus tickets, and flight bookings. Earlier this year, Paytm Travel also started offering foreign exchange bookings for international travellers. “The momentum we’re building in our travel vertical is remarkable, with leading positions in rail, bus and flight bookings. The launch of domestic hotel bookings is an important step forward as it will help travellers around the country conveniently plan and book their perfect trip on Paytm. We want to offer the broadest travel selection on our platform, and look forward to continuing our expansion with the help of our trusted travel partners,” Madhur Deora, Chief Financial Officer, Paytm said. Paytm aims at having two million hotels and alternate accommodations globally, with the availability of 50 million rooms within the first 18 months.
Read More »ITQ’s Student of the Year 2017 kicks off
The Student of the Year contest, powered by InterGlobe Technology Quotient (ITQ), took place at Ibis New Delhi Aerocity in an attempt to hone budding talent from tourism institutes to launch dream careers for the best candidates. The final round of the contest was held amongst five finalists who presented on a tourism-related topic, and were judged by an esteemed panel consisting of Ashish Kumar, Managing Partner, Agnitio Consulting; Geeta Jain, CEO, Carlson Wagonlit Travel India; and Prof. (Dr) M Sajnani, Director – Tourism Management, Amity Institute of Travel and Tourism. Anil Parashar, President and CEO, ITQ, said, “The contest has been growing every year and this time, a total of 160 colleges participated in this out of which five reached the finals. Student of the Year aims to give the best talent from tourism universities a chance to acquire the ideal skill-set for a technology-first future, and is our way of ensuring a win-win situation for the student, as well at the industry. Elaborating on the same, Sandeep Dwivedi, Chief Financial Officer, ITQ, stated, “Our idea is to give students from the industry a platform to showcase their talent and fast-forward their career. This is our anvil event and since several of the participants are from different corners of the country, we would like to make it regional in the coming future so that more students get a chance to participate.” Also present on the occasion for the awards ceremony were Cristina Ionela Tarteata, Deputy Minister – Tourism, Government of Romania, along with His Excellency Radu Octavian Dobre, Chargé d’Affairs, Romanian Embassy in New Delhi, India.
Read More »Jet Airways’ CFO is now Acting CEO
Jet Airways’ Chief Financial Officer, Amit Agarwal has been given additional responsibility of Acting Chief Executive Officer with effect from March 1, 2016. Agarwal joined Jet Airways in December 2015 and has more than 24 years of experience having held leadership positions in India, Europe and North America. Naresh Goyal, Chairman, Jet Airways, said, “Amit will spearhead the Executive Management Committee of Jet Airways in delivering our strategic objectives. Jet Airways has made demonstrable progress towards achieving long-term sustainable profitability, having recorded three consecutive profitable quarters. Our business performance clearly demonstrates that our efforts are showing positive results.”
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