icanstay, a portal known for making luxury hotel stays available for business travellers, has successfully raised a fresh round of funding of Rs 1.30 Cr from an angel investor Mr Manoj Prasad, executive chairman at Singapore-based venture capital and management advisory firm MP Morgan Capital Partners Pte. Ltd.
This is an addition to Rs 2.24 Cr raised a few months earlier from the same investor who has picked up 6.54 % stake in the company.
The overall funds acquired are USD Five Hundred Fifty Thousand.
This investment values the company at more than Rs 36 Cr, in a short span of just nine months since its commercial launch.
First Time Travellers Limited, the company behind icanstay is a Delhi-based online start-up in travel e-commerce segment. Its vision is to provide upgraded hotel experiences to aspirational consumers and frequent travellers in the country.
Commenting on his investment, Mr Manoj Prasad, the angel investor said, “We see tremendous growth opportunities in the travel and hospitality space in India. FTTL is an exciting start-up with a unique model that brings value to all its stakeholders – customers, as well as hotels and, is well positioned for growth. We are excited to partner with such an exceptional management team and continue to build and grow this business over the long term.”
“icanstay” is launched to fulfil the aspiration of millions of Indians, who have yet not experienced stay in a Luxury Hotel.
As per the market study, less then 2% Indians have experienced stay in a luxury hotel. There is a huge aspirational class of customers, as per our estimates 10% of the total population, who wish and desire to stay in a luxury hotel.
And as on date, there are 125000 luxury rooms in India, which will grow to 165000 by 2020. With an industry average of 62% occupancy, 47500 rooms go vacant daily.
icanstay is a marketplace/bridge for a large base of aspirational consumers and luxury hotels with vacant rooms.
icanstay offers 4 & 5 Star rooms all over India at an amazing and fixed price of 2999 (include GST) all around the year. No seasonal surges or city-based price.
The portal wishes to upgrade budget hotel customer to the Luxury hotel and make this his/her way of life. Users can purchase an open voucher valid for 11 months, which can be utilised in more than 50 cities.
Mr Puneet Gupta, COO and Co-Founder, FTTL said, that the investment would be utilized to beef up the technology and expand hotel network. We are strongly placed to help hotels fill their vacant rooms and increase their yield per room. Further, we are continuously strengthening our product offering and user experience. We are targeting a turnover of Rs. 700 Crores by 2020.”
The company’s USP has always been the price and flexibility that it offers to its customers, making a luxury hotel stay affordable for as many people as possible.
