Airbnb, EaseMyTrip, Oyo Hotels & Homes and Yatra have joined hands to kind an association — Confederation of Hospitality, Technology and Tourism Industry (CHATT) — an market body that seeks to represent the interests of little and independent hotel and property owners. CHATT will also join the efforts of the government to revive the travel and hospitality market, bridge the digital gap, and provide educational instruction to little hotel and property owners, travel partners, the association stated in a statement on Wednesday.
The association comprises get started-up founders and business enterprise leaders such as Amanpreet Bajaj- basic manager, Airbnb India, Southeast Asia, Hong Kong and Taiwan Nishant Pitti, co-founder & CEO of EaseMyTrip.com Rohit Kapoor, CEO of Oyo India & Southeast Asia and Dhruv Shringi, co-founder & CEO of Yatra.com.
“Last year, inspired by the feedback from India’s small hotels, independent hosts and travel operators, leading players of the industry such as Airbnb, EaseMyTrip, Oyo and Yatra started to discuss how interests of and challenges faced by these new-age entrepreneurs, building travel businesses beyond tier-1 cities of India, could also become an inclusive part of thought leadership and advocacy for the industry. The Covid-19 crisis presents a unique opportunity to collaborate on reviving the industry and only progress upwards from here on,” the association stated.
Governments across the world imposed intermittent lockdowns and restrictions to curb the spread of the virus, crippling the hospitality and tourism market. The worry of contracting the virus has also prompted men and women to shun travel and outside activities.
CHATT aims to market domestic tourism, lead the digital transformation of tourism-connected enterprises and operating models whilst imparting educational instruction and valuable programmes to all market segments. Every member will be capable to access CHATT’s sources and advantages. They will get the scope to participate in year-round programmes and signature business enterprise events. The members will have access to travel-tech ecosystem, such as specialists and regional leads.