Vista Rooms rolls out functional app on Instagram

Currently, the venture has over 500 properties in over sixty locations in India.

Mumbai-based online branded budget accommodation aggregator, Vista Rooms has created a functional app-like experience on Instagram. Through this travellers can browse through locations and property options, as well as book a hotel of their choice. Vista's one-point intent is to use Instagram as a standalone mobile application that can serve both as an app, and a social networking tool.

The company's official handle is @Vistarooms_app on Instagram. Here users will be directed to a page filled with photo locations. When they tap on these photos, they are directed to other fully-featured pages where information on the property, local food, places of interest, culture etc. are available. For instance, if Goa is the chosen location, one can check out the relevant features of the place, the listed properties, and a photo of the room, its description and rates. The user can then click on the link to book the room, and will then be directed to the booking site on a regular browser.

Currently, the venture has over 500 properties in over sixty locations in India.

Amit Damani, co-founder and head of online sales and marketing, shares, "While Instagram is typically used by brands for static visibility, we saw an opportunity to leverage Instagram as our standalone mobile platform where users can experience an entire journey from discovering to booking, and then even reviewing their stay on the same platform."

Ankita Sheth, co-founder and head of partnerships, explains, "As a start-up, we wanted to stay resourceful, so instead of making a big investment for an app, we felt we could leverage existing platforms to reach out to a wider audience more effectively. At the ideation stage, this whole idea stumped us, but as the idea started formalising, we realised that Instagram has a huge untapped potential."

Vista Rooms started as an online hospitality startup specialising in aggregating and providing standardised accommodations across India. Vista Rooms is spreading its network in smaller tier-II and tier-III cities across India.