The 50-year-old hospitality chain witnessed a couple of properties record a 7x growth in direct bookings.

Pai Group of Hotels is a family-run business and a hospitality chain with a legacy of over half a century. The business was established by Mr. Jagannath Pai in 1973. Today his sons — Mr. Ajay Pai and Mr. Sujay Pai — manage the chain of eight hotels across Bengaluru, Mysore and Hubli in Karnataka; and Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh.

Mr. Sunil B M is currently the General Manager for the Pai Group of Hotels. Starting his career at Pai Hotels as a front office manager at Hotel Pai Viceroy, Jayanagar, Sunil has risen through the ranks with dedication, grit and hard work over a 18-year period at Pai Group of Hotels. “At Pai Hotels, we have gone through all the highs and lows of hospitality. We have seen levels of zero occupancy during the pandemic to even over 100% occupancy. During the 2008 recession, 90% of our bookings would be cancelled because we didn't have sufficient inventory. We struggled during those two years and then bolstered our sales and marketing team. Today, a couple of our hotels run at 98% occupancy.”

Hotel Pai Viceroy, Jayanagar which would only do about 25 monthly room nights through the website has now scaled 180 room nights after onboarding Simplotel. The case is similar for Hotel Pai Viceroy, Tirupati. Out of the total bookings that both these hotels receive from their online channels, Simplotel contributes to 50% of the online business. “Although the locations play a huge role, there has been a 7x jump for both these properties,” says Sunil.