Online Hotel Booking Platform RedDoorz Enters PH Market
The Philippines has opened its doors to Southeast Asia’s leading online budget hotel booking platform.
RedDoorz, a Singapore-based startup, has arrived in the country and is looking to have 100 properties across PH within the next 12 months.
“Our expansion into the Philippines came as a natural progression for RedDoorz where, like our first market in Indonesia, showed many similarities and thus the potential for a vibrant domestic travel and hospitality industry,” said RedDoorz founder and CEO Amit Saberwal.
After Indonesia, the Philippines is the fastest growing internet economy in the world. Its internet penetration is 63%, which is equivalent to 67 million users out of a population of 105.7 million. According to Saberwal, this is one of the main reasons why RedDoorz chose to expand here.
“Following our fresh funding earlier this year we realised that the Philippines held a strong demand for hotel rooms, not only for tourists but also for business travellers. We felt that it was timely for us to make the conclusive move to start expanding here – especially seeing how bolsterious the budget hospitality sector has been in recent years,” he said.
The company is also set to introduce RedDoorz Premium in the country, which is a category of properties specifically for the budget business traveller. Hotels under this brand are strategically located near business districts and have more amenities than the existing categories like RedDoorz and RedDoorz Plus.
RedDoorz Chief Operating Officer Rishabh Singhi said that RedDoorz Premium is going to market to budget business travellers who are looking for locations near business districts and want more amenities like good WiFi connection.
RedCash, RedDoorz’s loyalty program, will also be available to the Filipino market.
“With a high usage of local Filipinos who are not only tech-savvy but use social media on their mobiles, we look forward to new customers in the market to book via our RedDoorz app where they can redeem the RedCash earned from their stays. We strive to maintain our current track record of over 80% repeat stay as we continue our growth across our three markets,” said Singhi.
RedDoorz’s business is not based on countries but cities according to Saberwal. With a city-to-city approach, the company grew to over 500 properties with more than a million room nights processed and above 80% occupancy across 16 Indonesian cities, Singapore, and now, the Philippines.
RedDoorz’s CEO has attributed the company’s success in Indonesia and its entry into the Philippines to a firm belief in building the right team, meeting the right set of investors, and waiting for the right market opportunity.
Saberwal also revealed the biggest challenge for the company: “the mindset for property owners to accept our model, especially since this technology disruption has only taken place over the last three to four years in this region. With this disruption, owners of such properties become the most affected and we come in to educate and train these owners and their staff on why it is essential for their businesses to go on online platforms.”
RedDoorz has an inhouse training program called RedPro. Training is conducted in several areas including technology, housekeeping, maintenance, and sales and marketing. Over the past 18 months, RedPro has trained more than 2,000 staff across properties in Indonesia and Singapore, ensuring their smooth operation.
via WebInTravel
