We are publishing an interview of Mr. Viswanathan M., Founder and CEO, ULO Hotels.
About the founders
Viswanathan, the Founder and CEO, has an experience of over 6 years in the travel and tourism sector. He enjoys interacting with people and is currently making Ulo Hotels a Pan India operation. Operations, marketing, strategy, financing, creation of company culture, human resources and more, he handles them all. He enjoys charting Ulo’s direction and believes in doing things differently and smartly. He is always ready for food, travel, impromptu plans and long drives. Today, he stands as a man who has travelled extensively, and is always on the lookout for the next destination or one more challenge.
What is the problem you are trying to solve? Can you share with us any insights that led you to believe that this is a big enough problem?
Not every traveler look for luxury accommodations. Folks mostly look for rooms which fit their budget. But there is a huge vacant for budget hotels in the hospitality sector. Our main aim is to bridge this gap in the industry. We are offering budget accommodations to all our guests at affordable rates which is very much helpful for budget travelers. As of now we are concentrating on providing budget-friendly stays in tier-2 and tier-3 cities.
What is the uniqueness about your Startup?
Our ultimate goal is to build a chain of budget-friendly hotels with top-notch quality, service, and standards that create repetitive guests for us. The Uniqueness about our startup is that we operate through the Joint Business Venture model which is very much different from our competitors. We will help all our partner properties in running their day-to-day operations, boost their internet presence, enhance quality, and employ dedicated reservation team to monitor the bookings.
Ulo is derived from the Igbo language which means Accommodation. We chose this name because the guest satisfaction & amiable hospitality are our ulterior motive. Our main goal is to achieve and maintain features like Standard Occupancy, Standard Revenue and Quality Service. We are available 24*7 to cater to the needs of the guests. We ensure that the USP of all our partner property is maintained while working hard to achieve international standards in hygiene, amenities and services.
We also work on review platforms to increase the rankings of the properties. Our teams have the vast technical and domain knowledge to work in sync with technology that allows us to optimize and secure your transactions. We ensure complete safety of your information right from registration to payment. Our aim is to offer quality budget-friendly accommodations which are value for money.
What is the revenue model? What is the logic behind it? What is the model you are following – Free / Freemium / Premium etc. ? Explain your thought process.
Our revenue model is Joint Venture Business model. We help our partners to achieve occupancy rate, revenue and quality while assisting them in their day-to-day operations. Our teams have the requisite technical and domain understanding to work in sync with technology that allows us to optimize and secure your transactions. We serve a different set of clients by utilizing a support system that seamlessly syncs with the customer needs. We are available around-the-clock to cater to all the basic needs of the guests. We guarantee excellent quality service and also ensure complete security of your data right from registration to payment.
Who are the consumers that you are targeting? How is this going to affect them?
We are targeting struggling hoteliers with less than 40% occupancy rate to achieve Standard Revenue, Standard Occupancy Rate & Quality. According to a recent survey, there are nearly 6 Lakh hotels that come in this category in India. We will assist them to make the necessary changes in their administration to bring more revenue to them. All the partner properties will get better internet exposure to promote their business on a large scale. The guests can save money by staying at our budget-friendly accommodations. We offer top-grade amenities with world class hospitality to every guest. The customer satisfaction and quality is our key focus.
What is the big picture of your startup? Will it lead to something bigger? If so, how?
We strongly believe that quality should not be a luxury. We aim to provide budget stays to all our guests at reasonable prices without compensating the overall quality of the services. With 170+ rooms in 7 different destinations, our main goal is to offer great services around the clock and also to make the stay enjoyable and comfortable. We are planning to expand our presence in over 72 to 80 cities, acquire 250+ properties and to do 6000 room nights in the coming year. Our vision for the next five years is to expand our base in Pan India and to become one of the well known hospitality brand in India. We want to disrupt the hospitality market with our unique model.
What is the success story of your startup in your own words?
Maintaining the quality, overall occupancy and revenue are crucial for the success. But we are overcoming this challenge with our quality services. The guests like to stay in a hotel or a resort which is value for their money. Fulfilling that is a huge challenge for all hospitality startups like us. We are a team of young and energetic people who are working tirelessly every day to cater to the needs of all our guests. Our Success Mantra is “When the going gets tough, the tough get going”. This motivated us to perform hard during tough situations. Anyone can start a startup, but becoming a successful entrepreneur is difficult. It needs burning passion, supportive team, backup ideas and smart work. I strongly believe that success favors the brave. So don’t lose hope if you met with a failure. Work hard till your failure turns into a success. Stay strong and do your best! Visit https://ulohotels.com to know more about us.
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Thanks Viswanathan. Best of luck!
