Brands
Staah names India’s top hotel booking channels of 2025
MUMBAI: If hotel bookings were a popularity contest, online travel agencies would still be walking away with the crown. Staah’s latest Top 10 Booking Channels report for 2025 shows familiar giants holding firm, a few nimble climbers gaining ground, and hoteliers quietly sharpening their direct sales game.
Drawing on booking data from thousands of partner properties across India between January and December 2025, the report offers a snapshot of how travellers really book their stays. The picture is lively. Domestic travel is booming, price-conscious consumers are shopping smart, and mobile-first platforms are winning thumbs and taps.
GoMMT continues its long reign at the top, powered by scale, sharp pricing and an ability to appeal to everyone from road-tripping families to midweek business travellers. Close behind, Agoda’s mobile-first approach and loyalty perks have helped it climb confidently into second place. Booking.com holds steady at number three, proving that consistency still counts.
Cleartrip has made one of the more interesting moves this year, jumping two spots as travellers respond to its value-led positioning and strong flight-plus-hotel combinations. Meanwhile, direct bookings through Staah SwiftBook land in fifth place, a clear sign that hotels are nudging guests away from commission-heavy platforms and back to their own digital front doors.
The rest of the top 10 reflects a market in motion. New entrants such as Travelguru, EaseMyTrip and HyperGuest underline the depth and diversity of India’s travel ecosystem, where fresh ideas and niche offerings can still find room to grow.
“2025 has been a big year for travel, with Indian consumers relying on digital platforms at every step of the journey,” said Staah India Ltd national sales head Shoaib Ali. “OTAs remain vital for visibility and demand, but hotels are equally focused on building strong direct channels. The winners are those that balance reach with relationships.”
The wider backdrop is just as upbeat. India continues to rank among the world’s fastest-growing travel markets, fuelled by rising disposable incomes, better connectivity and a growing taste for personalised experiences. Domestic tourism shows no signs of slowing, while international interest in India is gathering pace.
In short, the booking battlefield is busy, competitive and full of opportunity. OTAs may still dominate the skyline, but direct bookings are no longer content to stay in the shadows.
Brands
Hemlata Sharma joins ONEOTT Broadband as chief business officer
Former Zee Media distribution head to steer growth, partnerships and strategy
MUMBAI: Hemlata Sharma has joined ONEOTT Broadband as chief business officer, bringing with her more than three decades of experience across television, telecom and media distribution.
Sharma most recently served as head distribution, research & CRM at Zee Media Corporation Limited, where she worked closely with editorial and senior management while overseeing distribution, consumer research and customer relationships for 14 news channels including Zee News, WION, Zee Hindustan and Zee Business, along with ten regional state channels.
In that role, she led nationwide distribution across platforms such as DTH, Hits, IPTV, cable networks and DD Free Dish. She also drove consumer research and strategic insights on a pan India scale, analysing content performance, anchor impact, programme slots and audience behaviour to guide editorial decisions and programming strategy.
Her portfolio also included managing one of the largest alliances with Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited and overseeing the global distribution monitoring of Wion across North America, Mena, Europe, Africa, APAC and Australia.
Earlier, Sharma briefly served as head sales and distribution at Triplecom Media Pvt Ltd, an engagement driven OTT platform bringing together content, gaming, music and advertising for the entertainment distribution ecosystem.
Her earlier career includes a senior vice president stint at Ten Sports Network, where she played a key role in relaunching the sports broadcaster as an independent bouquet comprising Ten Sports, Ten Cricket, Ten Action and Ten Golf following the Zee takeover. During this period, she moved from vp west to head strategy for cable and dth and later national head retail distribution, helping build the network’s retail distribution vertical across India and launching dedicated golf and football channels.
Before that, Sharma spent over six years at Bharti Airtel as general manager operations for Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. She initially led marketing and corporate communications before moving into sales leadership, where voice sales grew by 86 per cent and revenues by 96 per cent. She later headed business operations, expanding annual business volumes to Rs 100 crore while significantly reducing operational costs.
Sharma began her long association with the media distribution ecosystem at Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited as regional head sales and distribution for central India. During that period, she played a role in the early rollout of pay television channels including Zee Cinema, HBO, Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network, while also contributing to the launch of Siti Cable in key central Indian cities.
With her new role at ONEOTT Broadband, Sharma is expected to focus on strengthening business strategy, expanding partnerships and driving growth across the company’s broadband and digital distribution ecosystem.
