Brands
Airbnb’s Varun Raina elaborates on marketing plans for India
MUMBAI: Airbnb, the America-based marketplace and hospitality service brokerage company recently announced its intent to double market spends in India for better visibility. Airbnb Asia-Pacific regional director Siew Kum Hong mentioned that one of the prime reasons behind this move is the increasing number of listings within the country, which went up by 150 per cent the last year.
Speaking to Indiantelevision.com, Airbnb India marketing lead Varun Raina said that tourism in emerging economies is expected to increase at twice the rate as compared to other global markets and India is playing a crucial role in this growth, making it important for the company to expand its footprints here.
He said, “Airbnb’s growth in India has been phenomenal on all fronts – the number of listings, hosts and the travellers choosing the service in India. There are approximately 50,000 Airbnb homes and more than 250 unique Airbnb Experiences across the country.”
Quoting Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky, Raina shared that the aim is to get over 1 billion people to join the platform by 2027 and India is expected to be a huge contributor to this number owing to its huge millennial demographic and growing middle class.
He added, “The dominant segment of Indian consumers is led by 410 million millennials who have a very progressive travel mindset.” Raina went on to reveal that India has been performing phenomenally good for the platform. He mentioned that over two million Indian guests travelled using Airbnb globally in 2018. “Our Host community has welcomed more than 1.25 million travellers since 2016, over 60 per cent of which occurred in 2018. That growth isn’t just limited to foreign travellers; domestic travel on Airbnb in India has increased by 78 per cent in 2018.”
The focus of India’s marketing communication will be about Airbnb’s availability for all. With every communication the goal is to highlight that with Airbnb, one can get unprecedented access to travel on one’s own terms. The media are chosen based on its target audience. Its latest campaign, “That’s Why We Airbnb” is running across TV (music, news, GEC impact, sports) outdoor, airports, digital, and social media.
Elaborating more on the campaign, Raina noted, “Our newest campaign highlights real travellers discovering real places solely while in an Airbnb home. With their Airbnb as an anchor, the brand aims to guide travellers through their new environments and experience what truly interests them in and around the home. Given that there is an Airbnb for everyone, it’s only natural that our campaigns relate to every type of traveller-whether it’s a couple, a family, movie stars or workgroups.”
Brands
Dunkin’ Donuts to exit India as Jubilant FoodWorks ends 15-year franchise deal
The quick service restaurant giant is ending a 15-year franchise partnership with the American doughnut chain, even as it renews its Domino’s agreement for another 15 years
NOIDA: Dunkin’ is done in India. Jubilant FoodWorks Ltd, the country’s leading quick service restaurant operator, has decided not to renew its franchise agreement with the American coffee and doughnut chain, and will wind down its Indian stores in a phased manner before December 31, 2026, bringing a 15-year partnership to a quiet, loss-laden close.
The decision, approved by JFL’s board on March 30, 2026, ends a relationship that began with a Multiple Unit Development Franchise Agreement signed on February 24, 2011. JFL will now evaluate and undertake what it described in a regulatory filing as the “rationalisation and/or cessation of certain operations and/or sale, transfer or disposal of assets and/or assignment or transfer of franchise rights,” all in consultation with Dunkin’s brand owners and strictly within the terms of the original agreement.
The numbers tell the story bluntly. In the financial year 2024-25, Dunkin’ India posted a revenue of Rs 37 crore against a loss of Rs 19 crore — a haemorrhage that was always going to test the patience of a parent company recording revenues of Rs 6,104 crore and a profit of Rs 194 crore in the same period. Doughnuts, it turns out, were never going to move the needle.
The contrast with JFL’s handling of its other marquee franchise could hardly be sharper. Even as it walks away from Dunkin’, the company has just doubled down on Domino’s, signing a fresh Master Franchise Agreement on March 31, 2026, granting it exclusive rights to develop and operate Domino’s Pizza stores in India for 15 years, with an option to renew for a further 10.
JFL, incorporated in 1995 and promoted by the Bharatia family, operates a network of more than 3,500 stores across six markets — India, Turkey, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Azerbaijan and Georgia. Its portfolio includes Domino’s and Popeyes on the global side, and two home-grown brands: Hong’s Kitchen and COFFY, a café brand in Turkey.
For Dunkin’, India was always a stretch. The brand never quite cracked the cultural code in a market where filter coffee and chai command fierce loyalty and where the doughnut remains, at best, an occasional indulgence rather than a daily habit. Fifteen years, mounting losses and a parent with better things to spend its capital on was always going to be a difficult equation to solve.
The doughnut has had its last day. The pizza, however, is staying.
