NIFT UG 2016 Question Paper with solutions

Directions (Qs. 111-130): Read the following cases and answer the questions given at the end of each case on the basis of information provided.  Stayzilla.com, an online aggregator of hotel rooms and home-stay, is banking big on the ‘alternative stays’ segment for growth. Alternative stays primarily include a home-stay. The company envisages home-stay to account for nearly half of its earnings in FY-17; up from the existing one-third. Ticket size for home-stay bookings vary around ₹ 1,000 to ₹ 1,500 The Chennai-based company currently offers 40,000 rooms under the alternative stay segment across 10,000 to 12,000 properties in the country. According to Co-founder and COO, Stayzilla, it is targeting to close FY-16 at a gross booking value of ₹ 300 crore and more than double it to ₹ 750 crore a year later (in FY17). They see a huge growth opportunity in the home stay segment, especially with the hotel booking market saturating. The company, currently, sees bookings of around 10,000 room nights per day. The inventory is spread across budget and branded hotels, guest houses, lodges and homestays. In the hotel booking segment, it competes with the likes of OYO, MakeMyTrip, Goibibo, Expedia and so on. Stayzilla will soon introduce an insurance scheme for homeowners (in homestay category). The premium so charged varies upwards of ₹ 1,000 and will cover expenses related to damage of property, by the guest, if any. They have already entered into a tie-up with an insurance company and will now take it to the homeowners. The company is also looking to start an insurance scheme for guests put up at these home-stays. Coming free of charge, the insurance will cover minor medical costs that the guest may encounter during his home-stay