Y-Combinator backed Stayflexi launches hotel bidding app Bidflexi

Stayflexi, a Y-Combinator-backed hotel management platform, launched Bidflexi, a hotel bidding app to book last-minute stays by placing bids.

"The usage is similar to when you book a car on an app like Uber... you request a car and get it. We are attempting to do the same with hotel stays," Stayflexi Co-founder Venkatesh Sakamuri told YourStory on Monday.

Through Bidflexi, consumers can bid for hotels in a city of their choice across three categories—luxury, premium, and budget—based on their requirements.

Sakamuri said the prices on the app, which has a hotelier version and a consumer version, will be at least 50% cheaper than the hotel's website. "We make sure that whatever the price of a hotel is, it is at least 30-40% cheap on Bidflexi," he added.

At present, the app is available to download on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store for users with codes available. To start with, the Bidflexi app will be available for those looking for stays in Bengaluru.

In the following months, it would also include Mumbai, Chennai, Delhi, San Francisco, and New York, among other major cities.

Founded in 2018, Stayflexi automates hotel or vacation rentals and upsells unsold rooms and amenities. The company also offers cloud-based property management platforms for any business. To date, it has raised $1.72 million, as per Tracxn.

Since 2019-2020, Sakamuri, and his co-founders Preetam Shetty and Krishna Sasank Talasila, have been working on this idea. Leveraging the data shared by the hoteliers with Stayflexi, the co-founders found that many hotel rooms go unbooked during a particular time.

"What we found is that hotels are happy to sell at whatever price... even a 50-60% discount, but the catch is they do not want to put these prices online due to a potential brand dilution for these hotels," said Sakamuri.

How does the bidding process work?

When a user places a bid for a particular region, Bidflexi sends a notification to hotels that match the users' criteria closest to them based on an algorithm.

Once a hotel accepts the customer's bid, the app confirms the same to a customer and displays the booking along with details, including how much a particular customer has saved through the booking.

According to the latest numbers shared by Startup India, the country's travel market is set to reach $125 billion by the financial year 2027.

Earlier this month, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also launched the Chalo India campaign to promote tourism in India.

(This story has been updated to correct a typo)