India’s largest digital payment company Paytm is delving deeper into travel e-commerce with the acquisition of last minute hotel discount platform Nightstay.
Terms of the deal are undisclosed although media reports suggest the purchase may cost Paytm about $20 million.
NightStay lists unsold luxury and business hotel rooms at a discount in major India cities like Mumbai, Delhi and Bengaluru.
NightStay founder Nisar Khan will lead Paytm’s new hotel booking division at Paytm.
Alibaba-backed Paytm first entered the travel business in 2014 offering rail, bus and flight bookings and generates about $60 million in travel revenues a year.
It claims to be Indian rail operator IRCTC’s largest e-commerce partner.
The NightStay gives Paytm access to a hotel partner program with Indian hospitality brands such as Sarovar, and Treebo, and it plans to spend millions to quickly scale up its new hotel booking unit.
