MakeMyTrip Launches Value+ Chain; Blocks Oyo Rooms and Zo Rooms

Nasdaq-listed online travel booking portal MakeMyTrip has launched Value+, its own new brand of budget rooms, days after blocking Oyo Rooms and Zo Rooms from its portal.

Value+ hotels provide standardised amenities like free Wi-Fi, air-conditioning, and breakfast starting at Rs. 999, mirroring the standardised models of budget room aggregators that it de-listed from its portal.

Rajesh Magow, CEO of MakeMyTrip told ET that the new competitors had a very similar business model as their own, and that it didn't make long term strategic sense to let them grow. The report adds that the aggregators made 2-3 percent of MakeMyTrip's daily hotel room sales.

MakeMyTrip reportedly aggregated about 1,000 hotels under the Value+ brand and plans to double the number in the next 30 days. A quick search on the app and website yielded no results, or presence of Value+ branding.

Online travel aggregator Goibibo.com had launched GoStays in September which aggregates unbranded budget accommodations across India.

There are over 180 startups in the online travel and destination discovery space, according to a report produced earlier this year by startup data-tracker Tracxn, with around $300 million invested in 40 startups.

The online travel sector has seen significant funding rounds in budget room aggregators like Oyo Rooms and Zo Rooms.

There are over 180 startups in the online travel and destination discovery space, according to a report published in March by startup data-tracker Tracxn, with around $300 million (roughly Rs. 1,984 crores) invested in 40 startups. The hotel booking sector has seen significant funding rounds in budget room aggregators like Oyo Rooms and Zo Rooms.