Stayzilla.com, India’s leading online hotel reservation portal in the ‘value & budget’ segment, today unveiled some interesting findings of a market study on ‘travel patterns of women focused on the value and budget segment’. The study is based on data collected from 80,000 users (male and female), making online bookings in the ‘value and budget’ segment from Stayzilla.com’s network of hotels. The study has been conducted across the eight cities of Chennai, Bengaluru, NCR, Mumbai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Pune and Ahmedabad.
Commenting on the study, Yogendra Vasupal, CEO & Founder, Stayzilla.com, said, “For the last eight years, Stayzilla.com has had a dedicated focus on the ‘value & budget’ segment. We are delighted to note this increasing acceptance of this category and the growing consumption of our services among women travellers. We are confident that these trends will only get stronger over the next few years, and are gearing up to provide more customised offerings for this target market.”
This study is an analysis of bookings made from February 2013 to February 2014. The analysis covers 3 target segments – women travelling alone, women travelling in groups (of women), and women making booking decisions for their families/peers.
Stayzilla.com has found that 13 per cent of its travellers in the ‘value and budget’ segment are women, this number has doubled over the last one year. Additionally, amongst the women travel segment, Stayzilla has found an increased propensity for repeat travel. Women prefer ‘value and budget’ hotel options while travelling to tier 1 cities which include Chennai, Bengaluru, Mumbai, Delhi, Hyderabad and Kolkata. Security and furnishings are top criteria for women making hotel bookings in this category. Women prefer to book hotels that are centrally located indicating their concern for security.
The concept of budget sisterhood travel has come of age in India. Women using hotels in the ‘value and budget’ segment travel in groups of an average size of four people. Women are giving rise to the trend of ‘Staycations’ – travelling to destinations within a 200-km radius of one’s home for a short getaway. 70 per cent of staycations that women take are with families.
The average age of women using ‘value and budget’ accommodation has fallen from 40 years to 25 years over the last one year. This is essentially a function of purpose of travel. This is also a reflection of changing societal trends when it comes to women travellers.
