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When and how did you start?How did you come up with the idea? Your inspiration moment
LuvStay was founded by Sumit Anand. ON A CRISP winter afternoon back in December 2014, Sumit Anand found himself on his motorbike with the visage of his girlfriend in his rearview mirror and a smile on his face
. The 29-year-old Delhi- based software developer, after much deliberation and planning, had finally managed to find some time off and combined two long-held promises into a single plan—that of a long bike ride promised to himself and the other of an outstation holiday with his girlfriend.
The idea was to reach the Jim Corbett National Park in Uttarakhand by evening, check into one of the several hotels on the park’s periphery at night, and be up early next morning for a tour of the famed national park. The bike zipped through the city in the mid-afternoon sun, leaving the Delhi plains behind for the cooler sub-Himalayan air, until they reached the outskirts of the park by evening, having completed the 250-km odd distance in less than the expected six hours. “All we needed now,” Anand recounts, “was to stretch our legs and get some rest.” Except for the couple just couldn’t find a hotel room.
“We moved from one hotel to another. Some of them were adjacent and some of them on different lanes. But nobody was willing to give us a room,” he says. When asked, none of the receptionists offered any explanation, while it was quite evident, Anand claims, that several of them had vacant accommodation. Finally, the reception at one hotel, turning them down, did them the courtesy of explaining why.
“They said they had a policy against unmarried couples sharing a room,” he says. Another hotelier they approached went a step further. Pointing to his girlfriend’s Muslim name, the hotelier said that letting an unmarried couple, and that too of different religious communities, share a room could result in trouble. The year 2014 had seen the proliferation of several absurd political conspiracies about Hindu-Muslim lovers.
“Officially LuvStay came live in September 2016,” Says the Founders
Brief about organization and founding members
LuvStay is a unique and bold platform which proudly caters to unmarried couples. Our platform provides secure hotel rooms for unmarried couples and local id’s. Offering them safest rooms at affordable rates in best locations with options for short stays and a hassle-free stay. No fear of police raids.
Currently, we are in 40 cities with more than 400 hotels listed on our website. The team consists of Founder Sumit Anand who is also CEO handling core business, is an Engineer by background and MBA from Ambedkar College; Next is Co-founder Karan Mago also CMO who handles complete marketing and Business tie-ups for LuvStay, is an MBA from K.J. Somaiya College; then Amardeep also Co-founder handling backend operations.
The detailed journey, like what all you want to share with readers.
LuvStay is here to provide a private space for lovers as we know the value of true love. Usually, lovers are not respected when in Public Spaces. Our platform allows them to book a private space, without any fear of social trauma. At LuvStay no one judges or raise any questions on your relationships. We don’t judge any religion or caste, just love be strong.
About funding or plans for growth
Challenges and Opportunities/ Marketing Strategies
Yeah, we faced many challenges initially when we started no one accepted our idea even our relatives. We had been rejected many times from hotels while approaching them for tie-ups. When on the field we could convince only 2 out of 10 hotels. We merely started with 10 hotels in 2016, and now are with 400 plus hotels, now making 500.
There are unlimited opportunities in our segment, as this is an untapped section of the market. Also, we have seen a huge change in thinking of people especially hotel owners, which are now approaching us with new add-ons with us. Our concept has no offseason, we don’t depend on any occasions events to make business.
Future plans and funding
In future, we might focus on funding as to expand our platform in more segments.
A quote from the founder on the journey, or dealing with the challenge, or any inspiring moment.
Have patience not hurry up. Everything takes time. No business succeeds instantly.
website: http://luvstay.com/
contact: 91-9015977978;
Also available on Playstore and apple store.
