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Rhythm Lonavala hits 25% of total occupancy from direct bookings

Rhythm Lonavala hits 25% of total occupancy from direct bookings

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Reservation Desk Helps Room Nights Jump 50%, Doubles Conversion Rate to 40%

“We knew we had a good movie, but our trailer was missing. After considering at least
34 different scenarios, Simplotel was a no-brainer for us.”
Ashish Jatia, Director of Sales, Rhythm Lonavala

Nestled in the lap of the Sahyadri ranges, Rhythm Lonavala is an all-suite 5-star resort that indulges guests with mesmerizing greenery. The luxury resort situated in Lonavala, a hill station in Maharashtra, is a perfect getaway for city dwellers of Mumbai, Pune and even from the nearby state of Gujarat.

“We knew we had a good movie, but our trailer was missing. After considering at least
34 different scenarios, Simplotel was a no-brainer for us.”
Ashish Jatia, Director of Sales, Rhythm Lonavala

Nestled in the lap of the Sahyadri ranges, Rhythm Lonavala is an all-suite 5-star resort that indulges guests with mesmerizing greenery. The luxury resort situated in Lonavala, a hill station in Maharashtra, is a perfect getaway for city dwellers of Mumbai, Pune and even from the nearby state of Gujarat.

The 84-room resort opened its doors in 2016 keeping two ideas in thought: ample space and lush greenery for guests. The plot has trees which are a century old planted by Indian Freedom Fighters. While setting up the hotel’s foundation, the management had undertaken a massive tree-mapping exercise to preserve the roots.

Rhythm Lonavala is a family business and a part of the hospitality arm of the Rhythm Group, a diversified conglomerate, run by Ashok Jatia (Chairman) and his two sons Vaibhav (Managing Director) and Ashish (Director of Sales).

Both Vaibhav and Ashish had promising financial careers in the US. “We decided to return to India because of family, growth opportunities and a faster learning curve. Every opportunity is like an adventure here,” says Ashish.

Rhythm Lonavala onboarded Simplotel after evaluating the Bengaluru-based SaaS provider’s existing customers. The leadership wanted all its hospitality solutions under one-roof. “We knew we had a good movie (hotel), but our trailer (fast-loading hotel website) was missing. Also, the website and SEO had to go hand-in-hand. So after considering at least 34 different scenarios, Simplotel was a no-brainer for us,” says Ashish. Within a quarter, the luxury resort saw its organic traffic through mobile grow from 30% to 65%.

Rhythm Lonavala caters to three market segments — wedding, corporate and leisure. With both wedding and corporate businesses being offline, the online business makes up 70% of the total business for the leisure market respectively. Simplotel Hotel E-commerce (website & booking engine) and Simplotel Reservation Desk account for 40% of the online pie or 20-25% of the total occupancy. The total number of direct bookings through the website is 5-7% of overall bookings largely contributed by Free Independent Travellers (FITs).

“I believe Simplotel’s Reservation Desk has been the game changer. Most of our offline queries have gone online. The solution provides a personal touch thanks to its offers, seamless payment options and inventory management. This September our leisure segment was almost 80% higher than the pre-Covid average. Our conversion rate through Simplotel Reservation Desk has doubled to 40%,” says Ashish. He adds, “Our room nights from the overall leisure segment have grown by roughly 50% from pre-COVID times.”

The young entrepreneur believes that Simplotel’s team is its unique selling proposition. “It really encourages you to work with a responsive team.” He also highlights the easy to use content management system (CMS), the fast-loading website and the analytics. “The scorecards have everything you need and nothing you don’t!

“On a concluding note, the experience with Simplotel so far has been 10/10”, says Ashish.