RedDoorz is normalizing budget bookings

RedDoorz is one of the fastest growing budget accommodation provider in South-East Asia, with over 500 properties in Indonesia, Philippines and Singapore. RedDoorz was founded in 2015 by executives from online travel agency, MakeMyTrip. The company has grown to over 200 employees in five countries, funded by leading investors, such as Jungle Ventures, Susquehanna International Group, International Finance Corporation (the World Bank), 500 Startups, and Innoven Capital.

It is his nomadic life that led to the inception of a platform that is set to revolutionize the way others travel. “I basically live out of a suitcase,” grins Rishabh Singhi, Chief Operating Officer of RedDoorz, dubbed as Southeast Asia’s fastest growing value hotel chain. It is true — after meeting with press in the Philippines where the company started operations only last year, he is set to go back to his headquarters in Indonesia.

As a millennial traveler who did not have the means to spend on luxury accommodations on his trips, Rishabh had some horror stories to share about his low-budget journeys. “One instance that stands out was when my flight to Jakarta arrived late. I got to the small hotel where I booked my room in, and I was looking for the concierge. I found him under the front desk, sleeping, half naked,” he laughs.

The bleary-eyed hotel employee simply handed him his key and sent him on his way. “When I got to the room, I discovered that it was filthy. The sheets were stained, the bathroom was dirty,” he recounts. He checked out the next morning, and while the hotel staff, who did not speak English seemed apologetic enough, that did not change his mind.

A better way to get booked

These are the incidents he wants other travelers to avoid — through the RedDoorz platform. They first started by renting properties out themselves. Their first foray was also in Indonesia. “We had rented out an apartment, took photos and advertised it online. The next day, as my partners and I set out on a safari tour by the time we got to our destination that was three hours away, we already had a booking. We rushed back to clean the apartment, move our things and welcome the guest.”

They had 15 serviced apartments under their portfolio when they realized that the operations side was too taxing, and that they would rather focus on the sales and marketing part. This led them to start talking to small property owners with the idea of having a partnership where they would be able to provide the tech and the training side, while leaving the owners to handle the day-to-day operations under the RedDoorz standards of clean rooms with cable TV, Wi-Fi, free mineral water and toiletries, coupled with good guest services.

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