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Softbank-backed <keyword id="19901637" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="OYO" source="keywords">OYO</keyword> is set to refile its much-awaited <keyword id="19898327" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="IPO" source="keywords">IPO</keyword> as the global travel tech player is close to finalising its refinancing plans to raise up to USD 450 million via sale of dollar bonds, sources said. JP Morgan is the likely lead banker for the refinancing through the sale of dollar bonds at an estimated interest rate of 9 to 10 per cent per annum, a source said. In preparation for the refinancing, OYO has already moved its application with markets regulator <keyword id="19901201" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="SEBI" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="SEBI" meta.hostid="153" meta.entityid="SEBI">SEBI</keyword> to withdraw its current draft red herring prospectus (<keyword id="19914966" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="DRHP" source="keywords">DRHP</keyword>). The company intends to refile an updated version of the DRHP, after the bond issuance. Oravel Stays Ltd, OYO's parent company, had in November prepaid a significant chunk of its debt amounting to Rs 1,620 crore through a buyback process. The buyback involved repurchasing 30 per cent of its outstanding Term Loan B of USD 660 million. The move brought down its outstanding loan amount to around USD 450 million. A source closely involved in the company's IPO plans told PTI, "The refinancing will result in material changes to OYO's financial statements. Hence as per existing regulations, it will need to revise its filings with the regulator". "Since the decision for refinancing is at an advanced stage, it doesn't make sense to continue pursuing IPO approval with the current financials. So it's prudent to withdraw the current application," he added. The refinancing will extend the repayment timeline to five years -- versus the repayment of the remaining TLB due in 2026 -- the source said. The bond issuance would significantly lower the current effective interest rate of 14 per cent on its existing USD 450 million Term Loan B (TLB) facility. "The refinancing is expected to result in annual interest savings of USD 8-10 million (Rs 66.4-83 crore) in the first year, after accounting for the costs associated with the bond issuance. The company anticipates annual savings of USD 15-17 million (Rs 124.5 -141.1 crore) thereafter, almost all of which would get added to its net profits. Post the debt refinancing, the company is open to contemplating an equity round, to reaffirm investor confidence before a public listing to fortify its financial strength," the source said. In September 2021, OYO had filed preliminary documents with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) for a Rs 8,430 crore IPO. The launching of the IPO was delayed due to the then volatile market conditions making the company prepare to settle for a lower valuation at around USD 4-6 billion instead of the USD 11 billion it was targeting initially. SEE ALSO:<a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/mobile/webstories/motorola-edge-50-fusion-vs-oneplus-nord-ce-4-price-specs-and-features-compared/slidelist/110197390.cms" target="_blank"></a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/mobile/webstories/motorola-edge-50-fusion-vs-oneplus-nord-ce-4-price-specs-and-features-compared/slidelist/110197390.cms" target="_blank">Motorola Edge 50 Fusion vs OnePlus Nord CE 4 – price, specs and features compared</a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/mobile/webstories/iqoo-z9x-5g-with-120hz-display-6000mah-launched-starting-at-12999/slidelist/110176453.cms" target="_blank"></a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/mobile/webstories/iqoo-z9x-5g-with-120hz-display-6000mah-launched-starting-at-12999/slidelist/110176453.cms" target="_blank">iQOO Z9x 5G with 120Hz display, 6000mAh launched starting at ₹12,999</a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/woman-loses-54-lakh-in-work-from-home-scam-heres-what-it-is-and-how-to-protect-yourself/articleshow/110166963.cms" target="_blank"></a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/woman-loses-54-lakh-in-work-from-home-scam-heres-what-it-is-and-how-to-protect-yourself/articleshow/110166963.cms" target="_blank">Woman loses ₹54 lakh in work-from-home scam! Here's what it is and how to protect yourself</a>

OYO withdraws DRHP, to refile IPO post refinancing: Sources

OYO Hotels &amp; Homes, the world's leading hospitality chain, today announced that it will continue to ramp up efforts to improve its information security framework as well as roll-out stronger ethical hacking and bug bounty programs to encourage continuous improvement and collaboration with ethical hacking experts. This development is in line with the company's commitment towards ensuring data privacy and building a robust cybersecurity network. According to Jagbir Singh, Engineering Manager - DevOps and InfoSec, OYO Hotels &amp; Homes, "One of our biggest assets is the trust our customers, partners and employees place in us. We understand that trust is hard to earn and easy to lose. One key responsibility in earning this trust is protecting the data our customers and other stakeholders have with us from any unauthorised use. Our team of 1100+ world-class security, network and software engineers and external partners across multiple geographies is at work 24x7 ensuring the protection of this data, so our customers and stakeholders can rest easy." The Bug Bounty program that the company aims to introduce is towards ensuring that there is a credible and continuous flow of positive feedback from independent security groups and individual researchers to mitigate against any bug or shortfall in the company's systems. This is in line with the established practice of recognition and reward for ethical hackers who help responsibly investigate shortfalls within the tech architecture of several tech companies including the likes of Silicon Valley giants like Facebook, Google etc. OYO has accordingly developed an improved responsible disclosure policy to encourage honest and responsible reporting of any potential risks. Additionally, OYO has partnered with a specialized cybersecurity startup, AppSecure/Hackerhive, that connects companies and ethical hackers to help the former discover and fix security vulnerabilities and is in the process of developing a full-fledged bug bounty program. Security a priority Security is an integral part of any process at OYO; beginning from the collection of data, during transfer and processing to storage at rest. We follow a comprehensive information security framework based on NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology, USA), ISO 27001 and other stringent industry standards. Our commitment also extends to employee training and sensitization at every step. All new joiners at OYO go through information security training as part of the New Employee Orientation. The company's software developers and other Information Security personnel also attend a mandatory quarterly refresher since the technology in this space is dynamic and evolving very quickly. There is also an annual mandatory refresher training for all existing employees. Commenting on this announcement, Anil Goel, Group Chief Technology and Product Officer, said, "We have a robust and world-class security team comprising of in-house and external experts employing best in class security techniques including virtual private networks/cloud, firewalls, intrusion prevention and detection devices (IPS and IDS), security trainings for all engineers, static and dynamic code analysis, regular vulnerability assessments and network penetration tests. In today's digital world, a cyberattack is a real concern. Hence, in line with our efforts to continually improve, we are investing in ethical hacking programs as well." OYO also joined hands with other technology companies to address the issue of increasing online frauds and save guests from cybercrimes. Along with other companies, OYO met the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) representatives and made a joint representation on the issue that also addressed the plan on how to curb these online frauds followed by a meeting with other stakeholders in the telecom industry. The company has a long way to go and as it continues to amplify investments in this ever-evolving space, it aims to continually improve. About OYO Hotels and Homes Opening its doors in 2013, OYO Hotels &amp; Homes, a young hotel startup, today is the world's leading chain of hotels and homes. The portfolio combines fully operated real estate comprising more than 43,000 hotels with over 1 million rooms. Through its vacation homes business, the company offers travellers and city dwellers access to over 130,000 homes around the world under OYO Home, Belvilla, Danland, Dancenter and Germany-based Traum-Ferienwohnungen brands. OYO today operates in over 800 cities in 80 countries, including the U.S., Europe, U.K., India, Middle East, Southeast Asia, and Japan.

OYO to roll out comprehensive ethical hacking and bug bounty programs

<ul><li>Oyo launches a SOS button for its consumers. </li><li>The unicorn startup also has a trained Oyo Safety Response Team. </li><li>With a pilot project in Gurugram currently, the service will soon be available across 25 cities in India.</li></ul>Indian unicorn hospitality startup <keyword id="2550719" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="OYO-Rooms">Oyo Rooms</keyword> has <a href="https://www.dnaindia.com/technology/report-oyo-launches-industry-first-in-app-sos-button-here-is-how-the-feature-works-2728644">launched </a>a SOS button for its users. The in-app SOS button will help users staying in Oyo hotels or partnership hotels to alert authorities during an emergency situation. The hospitality chain has also trained a 24x7 OYO Safety Response Team (SRT) which will be able to help consumers. The app will also initiate a call with local law enforcement authorities if the situation arises. A pilot of the SOS button has already been launched with Gurugram and will soon be made available in 25 cities. With increasing number of women and solo travellers in the country, the feature has been long due. “We believe that this will enable guests especially women and solo travellers to feel secure further encouraging travellers to travel to and within India," <a href="https://www.dnaindia.com/technology/report-oyo-launches-industry-first-in-app-sos-button-here-is-how-the-feature-works-2728644">said</a> Aditya Ghosh, CEO - India and South Asia, OYO Hotels and Homes. Oyo, which is the largest hotel chain in South Asia, aims to be the world’s biggest hotel chain. “We will have one million rooms inventory into our fold in the near distant future. I think, it should happen in a year and a half,” Ghosh had told the news agency PTI on January 15. The company had recently raised $100 million from China’s ride-hailing <a href="https://inc42.com/buzz/chinas-didi-chuxing-invests-in-oyo-brings-billion-dollar-funding-round-to-a-close/">company</a> Didi Chuxing, in continuation with the $1 billion fund Oyo was raising. Oyo’s valuation stays at $5 billion. See Also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/former-indigo-chief-is-aiming-to-make-the-6-year-old-oyo-the-worlds-largest-hotel-chain/articleshow/67536612.cms">A 6-Year-Old Indian Startup Wants To Be World’s Biggest Hotel Chain</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/oyo-rooms-eyeing-acquisition-of-freshmenu/articleshow/68112104.cms">Oyo wants a bite of foodtech, may acquire Freshmenu: Report</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/solo-travel-in-india-rises/articleshow/67936872.cms">More Indians are travelling solo than ever before</a>

Oyo's new SOS button promises to make Indian hotels safer

<ul><li><keyword id="2808667" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="OYO">OYO</keyword> has just announced that it is permanently shifting to a hybrid workplace model.</li><li>However, OYO is not alone in this move; companies like <keyword id="1042120" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Uber">Uber</keyword>, PolicyBazaar, Swiggy, Zomato have given up their <keyword id="758423" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="office-spaces">office spaces</keyword>. </li><li>Experts believe that with this move, onus shifts to need for improved technology offerings to employees.</li></ul>Indian hospitality unicorn OYO has just announced that it is permanently shifting to a hybrid workplace model. With this new model OYO employees can now work from home, work from anywhere or from OYO’s coworking arm – OYO Workspaces. The development from OYO comes after news reports said that OYO was giving up the <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/small-biz/startups/newsbuzz/oyo-terminates-lease-contracts-for-two-gurgaon-offices/articleshow/77010482.cms">lease for its offices</a> in Gurugram. “Our workforce is divided into three categories, corporate employees, capability functions and field staff. While the field staff is already stepping out and attending office following all the health and safety protocols, our corporate employees and capability functions are also fully operational, and are opting for a combination of work from home and working from flexible coworking spaces solutions,” said Dinesh Ramamurthi, Chief Human Resources Officer, <keyword id="4964826" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="OYO-hotels">OYO Hotels</keyword> &amp; Homes. Lockdown hits <keyword id="1744992" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Office-leasing">office leasing</keyword> as companies curtail costs However, OYO is not alone in this move. With thousands of employees having left the COVID-19 hotspot metropolitan cities to return to their hometowns, many other corporates have been giving up their office spaces in a bid to cut <keyword id="442688" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="rental">rental</keyword> costs. According to a Knight Frank report, office leasing transaction volumes transactions in the first six months of 2020 fell by a massive 37% year-on-year to 17.2 mn sq ft, the steepest fall in a decade. Uber gave up its Mumbai office space, PolicyBazaar has <a href="https://www.livemint.com/news/india/startups-give-up-office-space-to-curb-real-estate-costs-embrace-work-from-home-11594903757023.html">given up four of its 12 offices in Gurugram,</a> Swiggy has shut offices in smaller cities, while Zomato too is toying with the idea of permanent work from home. “Our highest recurring expense today (outside of payroll) is real estate. We have 150+ offices globally, most of which are spaces for our sales &amp; logistics teams. Given how well we have been working from home, we have decided to make partial or full work from home a permanent feature of our lives,” Zomato CEO Deepinder Goyal had announced in May. Adapting to the ‘new normal’ With this, the stress will be on improved technology offerings to employees, believe experts. “Extreme innovation is what will win the game in the near future. As evidenced by the success of office-retail complexes, hybrid models clearly have potential. The workplace of tomorrow will depend on tighter collaboration to seamlessly weld together teams working from home as well as offices. Technology will be the primary enabler, not least of all when it comes to data security in the newly re-envisioned world,” said Anuj Puri, Chairman, ANAROCK Property Consultants. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/corporates/news/tcs-infosys-wipro-and-hcl-tech-factors-that-work-and-ones-that-do-not/articleshow/77082427.cms">Why TCS, Infosys, Wipro and HCL Tech can expect better earnings this year ⁠— here’s what’s working for each one of them</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/apps/news/zoom-new-center-in-bengaluru-with-plans-to-introduce-value-added-services-to-video-conferencing/articleshow/77080016.cms">Zoom opens up new technology centre in Bengaluru with plans to introduce value-added services to the video conferencing app</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/shop-on-wheels-finally-takes-off-in-india-as-brands-arrive-at-societies-with-retail-trucks/articleshow/77077265.cms">Shop on wheels finally takes off in India as brands arrive at societies with retail trucks</a>

OYO joins the string of startups that are permanently leaving office spaces to reduce real estate costs

<ul><li>The <keyword id="10901437" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="ecosport-se">EcoSport SE</keyword> SUV comes with a new, dual-tone rear bumper that gives it a sporty look with a familiar front grille and 16-inch alloys.</li><li>The new variant features design borrowed cues from its American and European peers, where the compact SUV is sold without a rear-mounted spare wheel.</li><li>The new variant will be available in petrol and diesel variants priced at ₹10.49 lakh and ₹10.99 lakh in the Indian market.</li></ul>Ford India launched, on Wednesday, a new variant of its popular compact SUV EcoSport, EcoSport SE. The company offers customers the choice to pick from two body styles — with or without its signature rear-mounted spare wheel. The new variant will be available in both petrol and diesel variants priced at ₹10.49 lakh and ₹10.99 lakh in the Indian market, respectively. The new variant features design borrowed cues from its American and European peers, where the compact SUV is sold without a rear-mounted spare wheel. And, in order to solve the problem of unexpected punctures, the company is offering an easy to use puncture kit that will enable owners to repair tyre damage within minutes, without the hassle of removing the tyre from its slot. <div type="image" title="eco sport 2" msid="81428648" hostid="261"></div> Here’s all you need to know about the newly launched EcoSport SE SUV: <keyword id="10902586" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="EcoSport-SE-price">EcoSport SE price</keyword>: The EcoSport was first developed for the Brazilian market and was launched in 2003. The car made its way to the India market in 2013 and was priced at ₹5.59 lakh. The new variant will be priced at ₹10.49 lakh for petrol and ₹10.99 lakh for diesel in the Indian market (ex-showroom). <div type="image" title="eco sport 3" msid="81428663" hostid="261"></div> <keyword id="10902585" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="EcoSport-SE-features">EcoSport SE features</keyword>: Introduced in titanium trim, the car continues to make use of the SYNC 3 infotainment system along with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto as well as Ford PassTM integration, as some of its premium features. The SUV comes with a new, dual-tone rear bumper that gives it a sporty look with a familiar front grille and 16-inch alloys. EcoSport SE specifications: The new EcoSport SE is powered by a 1.5 litre three-cylinder petrol engine with the power of 122 PS, while the diesel variant has a 1.5 litre engine with a peak power of 100 PS. The engines will be paired to Ford's responsive and agile five-speed manual gearbox. <div type="image" title="eco sport 4" msid="81428678" hostid="261"></div> EcoSport SE rivals: EcoSport continues to be an exciting car to drive in its segment. The new variant will rival its peers such as Tata Nexon, Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza, <a href="https://www.carandbike.com/toyota-cars/urban-cruiser">Toyota Urban Cruiser</a>, <a href="https://www.carandbike.com/hyundai-cars/venue">Hyundai Venue</a>, and recently launched Renault Kiger. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/after-sbi-icici-bank-announces-to-bear-cost-of-covid-19-vaccine-for-its-employees-and-immediate-family-members/articleshow/81428369.cms">After SBI, ICICI Bank announces to bear cost of COVID-19 vaccine for its employees and immediate family members</a><a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/after-sbi-icici-bank-announces-to-bear-cost-of-covid-19-vaccine-for-its-employees-and-immediate-family-members/articleshow/81428369.cms"></a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/oyos-singapore-arm-secures-200-million-loan-from-softbank/articleshow/81427001.cms">OYO's Singapore arm secures $200 million loan from SoftBank</a>

Ford's new compact SUV variant EcoSport SE launched in India priced at ₹10.49 lakh

New Delhi, May 29 (IANS) As businesses around the globe adapt to the new normal, Google Cloud is helping a diverse set of organisations, from the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) to Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based company Fluid AI efficiently manage their workloads across remote locations, Karan Bajwa, Managing Director, Google Cloud India, said on Friday. Bajwa, a senior industry veteran with over three decades of leadership experience who joined Google Cloud in March this year, said that most businesses and users in the country depend on Google Cloud to stay connected and get work done. "As Covid-19 runs its course, we at Google Cloud are working hard to deliver technology and business solutions to help millions of people stay connected. We believe today more than ever, we need to collaborate and innovate and build new features to make our tools helpful, secure and safe," he said in a blog post. Bajwa said that today, employees of NPCI have been able to efficiently manage work across remote locations where employees can securely work and collaborate with colleagues, clients and stakeholders. "Kochi-based conglomerate Muthoot Group, one of the largest financial services providers in the country has been using G Suite's collaboration tools to stay connected and carry business as usual during the lockdown period," he informed. Popxo, India's largest community of women online was able to accomplish a smooth transition to Google Cloud and optimise performance with the help of highly efficient tools and the support and collaboration from teams. According to Bajwa, real estate company Rustomjee can access every business application via Google Cloud Platform. "Fluid AI has leveraged our collaboration to spin up custom virtual machines on demand in the cloud for employees and stream it to them in a secure, cost effective way that is monitored and restricts data transfer," he added. Google Cloud has a rich list of customers in India, including Dr Reddy's Laboratories, Indiamart, Hero Motocorp, ICICI Prudential, L&amp;T Finance, LIC HFL, Manipal Hospitals, OYO Hotels and Homes, Truecaller, Wipro and others. In March, the company announced plans to expand its presence in India by launching a cloud region in Delhi, adding to its Mumbai region that was opened in 2017. Google Cloud this month appointed former Microsoft executive Anil Bhansali as Vice President of Engineering. In his new role, Bhansali will coordinate all software development support efforts for Google Cloud in India. Bhansali joins Google Cloud from Microsoft where he was Corporate Vice President of their Azure cloud division and site leader for their R&amp;D team in India. --IANS na/

From NPCI to Fluid AI, Google Cloud preparing Indian firms for new normal

<ul><li>Payment gateway business has grown by 2400% over the last three years, <keyword id="357931" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Puneet-Jain">Puneet Jain</keyword>, Senior Vice President, <keyword id="6357120" type="DEFINITION" weightage="20" keywordseo="paytm">Paytm</keyword> told Business Insider. </li><li>Currently, they process over 400 million transactions every month and have a 50% market share. </li><li>Jain claims that the consumption slowdown didn’t affect digital businesses in India.</li></ul>From booking cabs to online shopping, payment gateways have made digital transactions seamless and easier. And almost every other website you go to, has a Paytm payment integration. Leveraging the turn to digital and fast growth of online consumption, Paytm payments gateway has grown leaps and bounds. It has grown by a massive 2,400% over the last three years, Puneet Jain, Senior Vice President, Paytm told Business Insider. “At a market share level, we are India’s largest payment gateway – we do more transactions than the rest of the players put together,” said Jain. Currently, they process over 400 million transactions every month and have a 50% market share. But at Paytm, the growth goes beyond numbers. Jain says that one of their achievements has been that all leading players across industries use their services – from IRCTC to Uber to Zomato and Swiggy. “The other significant achievement we saw last year was the pace of innovation – we launched 15 products last year and significantly upped our performance as a payment gateway,” he said. Paytm’s growth last year comes even in spite of a consumption slowdown in the country. But Jain believes that the slowdown didn’t affect digital businesses. “We continue to grow month-on-month. The Internet is still an emerging segment. The slowdown is limited to certain pockets and more so the traditional economy than the new-age internet space. Digital payment is a reflection of digital consumption,” said Jain. But as <keyword id="6358577" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="digital-payments">digital payments</keyword> and consumption grows online, the need to innovate still remains. <keyword id="7576656" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Paytm-Payment-Gateway">Paytm payment gateway</keyword> had recently partnered with Visa to do away with the OTP verification for transactions under ₹2000. This is to boost small ticket payments in the country. E-commerce giant<a href="https://www.livemint.com/companies/news/now-you-won-t-need-otp-for-transactions-up-to-rs-2-000-on-your-flipkart-orders-11578292431388.html"> Flipkart</a> too had launched the same feature recently. But this also led to questions around security but Jain claims its safety built as per regular guidelines. “We need a one-time user consent after which the user is not required to go through the OTP authentication. It’s built as per the regulator guidelines and is based on device-based network authentication where networks like visa measure the safety of transaction on a real-time basis decide whether an OTP is required,” said Jain. SEE ALSO <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/oyo-ola-paytm-and-uber-have-laid-off-thousands-of-employees/articleshow/73466680.cms">Indian unicorns like Oyo, PayTm and now Uber are shedding flab — resulting in thousands of pink slips</a>

Paytm’s payment gateway has grown by 2400% over the last three years

<keyword id="6354692" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Travel">Travel</keyword>lers have an old adage that “half the journey is getting there.” While “getting there” was never intended to mean researching and booking a trip, it was a fitting statement for the tedious booking process; before digital devices disrupted the travel industry. Things have changed and planning a trip is faster and easier than ever. Booking across devices is the new norm, driven by the tech-savvy Indian millennials. In one of the largest smartphones market of the world, it has become a more prominent device for travel bookings. The use of <keyword id="383661" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Mobile-Apps">mobile apps</keyword> continues to extend their reach as a preferred booking channel. This new customer journey has important implications for hotel, airline and other travel brands targeting savvy travellers across multiple digital devices. Travel marketers must embrace mobile growth and develop a seamless cross-device and app strategy to reach consumers wherever they are on their booking journey. It is important that travel companies understand their user journey starting right from browsing, leading to final purchase of bookings/services. Invest in the small screen Travellers are, by nature, on the move, so what better place to reach them than the devices in their pockets? Travel companies must offer content and functionality that are fully adapted to smartphones and take advantage of the latest technology enhancements. Features like swipe to book, quick-loading mobile pages, notification alerts and mobile ticketing can help draw in consumers by making it easy for them to research and plan trips on the go. <keyword id="1762392" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Criteo">Criteo</keyword>’s latest Asia Pacific Digital Traveller Report reveals, about 54 percent of millennials, and 44 percent of baby boomers in India use smartphones for travel bookings. Considering the growing number of consumers using mobile phones for planning their travel and finally booking through mobile apps or mobile web, travel brands should continue to invest in smartphone-based platforms that make it easy for their consumers to research, plan and book trips on small screens. Travel companies need to adapt mobile experiences to meet the needs of the influential, connected millennials behind this trend in order to be successful. As this trend grows, travel marketers need to ensure they offer secure mobile transactions and a simple payment process so that consumers avoid roadblocks on their travel purchasing journey. These best practices should be replicated across all devices – including smartphone, tablet and desktop – for a consistent and synchronized experience wherever the journey leads. Make your mobile app part of the travel experience Dedicated mobile apps empower consumers with capabilities like choosing their hotel room, checking in early and adding additional services to their stays. Travel brands that have the foresight to focus on developing a feature-rich mobile app will benefit from an increase in downloads and bookings from on-the-go consumers. Travel marketers like OYO have invested in mobile app and online website. OYO adopted a social media strategy (e.g. Facebook, Twitter) in several of its marketing campaigns to raise brand visibility amongst other travel aggregators such as <keyword id="54613" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="makemytrip">Makemytrip</keyword> and <keyword id="132652" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Cleartrip">Cleartrip</keyword>. This resulted in revenue increase of OYO by 10%. Brands with a mobile app presence that offers travellers differentiating deals and services are poised for success as smartphone use continues to expand. Moreover, through investment in content digital marketing, companies can build trust, and fortify level of engagement and relationship with their consumers. This will further initiate increase in reach and traffic to website allowing the expansion of hotel, bus, rail, car rental, honey package bookings. Encourage spontaneity with time and location-based offers Several years ago, a last-minute cancellation or change of plans could leave a traveller stranded and frantically calling a travel agent to find a place to stay. Today, the same scenario can be quickly resolved with a few swipes and taps of the thumb. Travel changes on the go are no longer a source of anxiety, but excitement, as the ease of booking spontaneous trips increases, and consumers are embracing this. Industry data shows that majority of <keyword id="158657" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Indian-travellers">Indian travellers</keyword> make last minute travel booking and therefore prefer booking using online/mobile apps, as it is easier to change/cancel their booking. Moreover booking from travel portals is easier to book flights and hotels. Moreover consumers also enjoy the benefit of discounts offered only for online booking or booking via apps. Smart travel marketers can take advantage of this growing trend by making time and location central to their mobile booking experience. Smartphones are shifting closer to the center of the booking experience, making the trip-planning journey more smooth and seamless than ever before. Travel companies should invest in the smartphone booking experience, make time and location key to mobile booking, and build an intuitive and services-driven mobile app to successfully meet travellers at every stage of their journey. Those that can master a mobile-first, cross-device strategy and reduce consumers’ time spent “getting there” will reap the benefits of happy travellers, wherever their final destination may be. (The article is authored by Dushyant Sapre, Commercial Director, Criteo India)

Here’s what travel companies should do to reach mobile savy Indian consumers

<ul><li>With one Gold, two silver and four bronze, India recorded its best-ever medal haul at the Tokyo Olympics this year, which ended on Sunday.</li><li>As the Tokyo Olympics came to an end, we talk to experts to find out who will land the most <keyword id="6359405" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="brand">brand</keyword> endorsement deals, and whether the new players will become as attractive to brands as someone like <keyword id="501707" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="PV-Sindhu">PV Sindhu</keyword>.</li></ul>This year at the Tokyo Olympics, Mirabai Chanu, Neeraj Chopra, Ravi Kumar Dahiya, PV Sindhu, Lovlina Borgohain, Bajrang Punia brought joy to a billion hearts by bringing home one gold, two silver and three bronze medals. India’s hockey team also clinched a bronze after 41 years. This was the first time that India has managed to secure seven medals across varied sporting events. India also had the largest contingent ever of 127 athletes travelling to Tokyo who participated in 69 cumulative events across, the highest ever for the country. With this historic win, underrepresented athletes and sports are back in the limelight in the endorsement world. Indian brands also made sure that they leave no stone unturned in celebrating our athletes and their glorious win. The first athlete to bring back a medal for India this year was 26-year-old weightlifter, Mirabai Chanu. Shortly after her win, she was also offered free pizza for life by <a href="https://twitter.com/dominos_india/status/1418934590950027269">Domino's </a>and the brand garnered a lot of attention from the press and the internet for this gesture. Hospitality brand <a href="https://twitter.com/rohitisb/status/1424620158929162243">OYO </a>also offered women’s hockey team a chance to stay at any of their hotels in India. Apart from that, small start-ups to masters like Amul, brands made the most of our gold-winning moment at the global stage to congratulate Neeraj Chopra, who became independent India’s first Olympian to win a medal in athletics/track and field. According to Facebook, Neeraj Chopra was the second most mentioned athlete on its platform across the globe, whereas on Instagram, he was the most mentioned athlete globally. Over the years, we have seen brands spend the most on players from popular sports like cricket. While athletes get some screentime in ads closer to tournaments like Olympics, very few brands have long-term deals with most of these athletes, unless it is someone like a PV Sindhu, who has been around for a while now and has won many accolades and tournaments for the country. So with the curtains falling on Tokyo Olympics and the next Olympics games still being three years away, will brands bring the newer winners or even players who came really close to bringing medals home? This year, however, many of the athletes have received a lot of attention from brands. It was not just Sindhu or Neeraj Chopra, who aren’t new to the endorsement world; other new medalists Mirabai Chanu, Ravi Kumar Dahiya, Lovlina Borgohain and Bajrang Punia have also received an overwhelming response. Slowly and steadily, brands in India are branching out from cricket and looking to associate with budding sports stars to connect with the youth. We spoke to experts to find out who will land the most brand endorsement deals among the six medalists and hockey team. Aviral Jain- Managing Director, Duff &amp; Phelps - A Kroll Business said, “We think it will be a combination of both, though PV Sindhu now carries the tag of “She did it again,” which is unique and privileged. Other non-cricketing sports celebrities such as Hima Das, T. Gopi, Manika Batra, and Deepika Kumari have recently done well in terms of brand endorsements, driven by their splendid individual achievements on the field. Major brands like PepsiCo (PV Sindhu, Neeraj Chopra and Hima Das), Tanishq (Manika Batra and Deepika Kumari), and ASICS (Bajrang Punia, Sakshi Malik, etc.) have successfully associated with various non-cricketing celebrities, and with these non-cricketing wins at the Tokyo Olympics, we can surely expect a greater share of athletes in the advertisement campaigns going ahead.” Anjan Ghosh - Executive Vice President- Hansa Research also echoes these views. He said, “In all probability, more brands will sign up PV Sindhu; her brand standing has gone up substantially, having won medals in multiple Olympics. Brands that want to stand for consistency, fidelity, and grit will find Sindhu a compelling endorser. Also, those who wish to appeal to the young, aspiring women eager to achieve will try to harness Sindhu’s determination and intent and infuse these into their brand personality. The best part is that her success is not a flash in the pan; longevity is something that many brands aspire.” Sahil Chopra, Founder &amp; CEO- iCubesWire said that apart from Sindhu, India’s national sport might also gain more attention this year. “I guess it will be a mix of both known faces and new faces, but yes, the likes of PV Sindhu who have refreshed the memories, will have an edge over the new ones. Only exception to this could be hockey, being the national sport and the way it has captured people’s hearts in the past.” According to media reports, Sindhu currently has 10 deals with Bank of Baroda, Bridgestone Tyres, Visa India, Google, real estate firm Pooja Developers, Chinese sports brand Li Ning, Stayfree, PNB Metlife, Sharechat and Vizag Steel. Experts said that her brand value is likely to double after her incredible performance. But Sindhu is just getting started. The 26-year-old shuttler still has a long career ahead of her, and we expect to witness more iconic wins from her. TRA Research’s CEO, N. Chandramouli said, “PV Sindhu’s winning medals twice in succession is a phenomenal performance at the Olympics. Her value seems to have gone along with her second-time win, and would nearly double. She is young yet, and still has at least one more Olympic Games to look forward to, and so more years of sporting success ahead of her.” On whether Sindhu and Chopra will attract the most brand roles or will newer medalists also get a chance, he added, “All Olympic medal winners from India will gain, some a little more than others. The newer medalists are just starting off, so it's only natural that they will have to prove themselves consistently to see their brand value increase.” Jain also said that Sindhu’s fees and her popularity is likely to double. “Today, she is the undisputed queen of the Indian brand endorsement market (women sportspersons) with more than 10 endorsements and more than 7 million followers on social media. And we expect both the number of brand endorsements and the endorsement fee to increase significantly post her phenomenal success at the Tokyo Olympics, resulting in a significant increase in her brand value.” New-age brands are more likely to onboard the new medalists as their fees is substantially lesser than a seasoned athlete. Mirabai Chanu and Lovlina Borgohain, who recently won Silver and Bronze medals, respectively, in the Tokyo Olympics seem to have caught the attention of many brands. While Mirabai Chanu is currently associated with brands like Adidas and Mobil, her endorsement portfolio is expected to rise post her success at the Olympics. “Not all brands will look for Lovlina and Mirabai given the lesser fan-following for these sports (as compared to say badminton or hockey) – however, those brands that want to epitomize empowerment for women, a burning desire to break into the mainstream from the fringes, or stand up against many adversities may try to build a narrative around personalities like Lovelina / Mirabai. Categories that are looking for evolution through innovation / competing against the conventional might want to weave a story around such personalities – say, solar panels, unconventional energy, electric bikes etc,” said Ghosh. Is the sports ecosystem really changing? With cricket matches being limited this year, brands are banking on Olympic stars to gain consumer attention and stay relevant. However, cricket still gets the bigger piece of the pie. Sahil Chopra is eager to see a sporting ecosystem where all sports get their due, equal recognition. He said, “I would personally love to see the change and this will be good for the ecosystem as well as the audience. The current ecosystem is so cricket-centric at times it isn’t good for the brand recall when you end up seeing the same faces all the time.” Ghosh said that while there is certainly going to be a change in the fortunes of other Indian athletes/sports stars, especially with the surge in enthusiasm over sports other than cricket, and many will see better brand endorsement contracts coming their way – however, a significant difference might take more time. He said, “Not sure whether the sports marketing ecosystem has changed in a radical way – the support / patronage is still lukewarm; the efforts are still guarded. Other sports stars are enjoying higher popularity and getting better visibility but the gap with cricket is still painfully wide.” Jain told us how a marketer evaluates new endorsement opportunities looking at the extent of media coverage given to the sport, the tournament’s share in the national media broadcast, and finally, the degree of relevance a player has for the audience. So, it is important for new medalists to stay in the news. He said, “While the Indian arena has a wide range of sports being followed by the masses, cricket continues to dominate and maintain a strong hold on the endorsement front. Lately, with the advent of professional leagues (on the lines of the IPL) for other sports like kabaddi, football, badminton, etc., brands and advertisers are favorably looking at these non-cricketing opportunities. However, brand endorsements by non-cricketing sporting stars in India are largely driven by individual visibility; this is in comparison to endorsements for cricketing stars that could be “across the board.” Brands typically feature athletes for their grit, patience and determination, and this helps in targeting millennials and Gen Z who are seeking new aspirational figures. With multiple Olympic achievements this year across non-cricketing sports (badminton, hockey, boxing, wrestling and weightlifting), these sports stars will definitely get more attention going ahead.” After a historic performance at the Olympics this year, experts are hopeful that non-cricketing sports stars will also bag more brand deals. <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="85102342" title="As PV Sindhu takes 20 brands to court for using her name and image without permission, here's how agencies and brands can be careful with moment-marketing in the future" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div>

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