The horrendous experience travelling to Hyderabad was definitely salvaged by the quality of interactions I had at the Campden Regional Family Summit. The summit was followed by a co-investment workshop where startups pitched their ideas to a group of family offices for investment. While most of the ventures were the kind that would appeal to patient capitalists, one of them stood out to me. This startup has the potential to open up a blue ocean in the space at the cross-section between low budget business hotels, hostels and solo travelling ie capsule hotels.

With the ability to pack in a large number of beds in a small area, community bathrooms to cut costs, and the capsule design providing an air of privacy that one craves in a hostel, the capsule hotel format brings their customer the best of both hospitality verticals and cost.

The venture that was presented yesterday viz UrbanPods has set up a location in Mumbai. I am planning to stay in their hotel for a couple of days to fully immerse myself in the experience because I truly believe that it is a great business idea for value-conscious travellers in a high-cost real estate market like India.

70/2018