Brands
Paytm moves aggressively into movie ticketing
MUMBAI: Paytm reported more than a lakh movie tickets, reflecting the huge potential of the online movie ticketing industry in India. This significant milestone has been crossed by Paytm within four months of launch of the movie ticketing business. In a massive effort to encourage digital payments in India, the company’s foray into the entertainment space has been warmly welcomed by the movie industry across the value chain comprising exhibitors, distributors and production houses. Leveraging Paytm’s existing ecosystem of over 130 million users, Paytm has set itself aggressive numbers in the months ahead.
One of the key reasons for the significant initial success of Paytm in the movie-ticketing domain has been the Pan India availability of movie screens on its platform. Currently, Paytm has over 2250 screens for which tickets can be booked online. This number will increase to 3000 screens in the coming months. Paytm’s list of tie-ups in the movie industry includes PVR, Cinepolis, Inox, Wave, Miraj, MovieTime, Gold Cinemas and multiple other chains & single screen theatres.
Speaking on this, Paytm VP Renu Setti said, “In just about four months since the launch of movie ticketing, Paytm is well on its way to become the country’s favorite mode of booking movie tickets. We are very pleased at the encouraging response to our efforts to serve the millions of movie lovers in India. Paytm will also bring offline single screens on its platform over a period of time. This will take the reach of Paytm deeper and further in this space, and also aid the theater owners in filling up seats.”
Brands
Uber launches hotel bookings feature in partnership with Expedia
From hotel bookings to room service at your door, the ride-hailing giant is making its boldest push yet into everyday life
CALIFORNIA: Uber is done being just a taxi app. At its annual GO-GET product event, the world’s leading mobility and delivery platform unveiled a sweeping set of new features designed to plant itself at the centre of how people travel, eat and shop, hotel bookings included.
The headline move is a partnership with Expedia Group that lets Uber users in the United States book hotels directly within the Uber app, with access to a catalogue that will eventually grow to more than 700,000 properties worldwide. Uber One members get 10 per cent back in Uber One credits on all hotel bookings and savings of at least 20 per cent on a rolling list of more than 10,000 hotels globally. Vacation rentals from Vrbo, Expedia Group’s home-rental brand, will be added later this year. The partnership is expected to expand beyond the United States. From June, Uber rides will also be integrated directly into the Expedia app, with push notifications sent to travellers ahead of hotel check-in to book discounted Uber rides for the duration of their stay.
Dara Khosrowshahi, chief executive of Uber, framed the expansion in terms of the modern condition. “Uber is becoming an app for everything, helping people go, get, and now travel all in one place,” he said. “We’re all living through a moment of real cognitive overload: too many apps, too many decisions, too much noise. At the end of the day, our job is to help people reclaim their time, spending less of it managing the logistics of life and more of it actually living.”
Ariane Gorin, chief executive of Expedia Group, struck a similarly ambitious note. “Travel should feel effortless, and this partnership gets us one step closer to offering a seamless traveller experience,” she said. “By connecting our two-sided marketplace with Uber, we’re bringing Uber rides directly into the Expedia app and Expedia Group’s lodging inventory into the Uber app through our Rapid API technology. Together, we’re helping travellers spend less time planning and more time enjoying the journey.”
Beyond hotels, the product announcements come thick and fast. Travel Mode, available within both the Uber and Uber Eats apps, offers curated recommendations on local favourites, tourist destinations, OpenTable restaurant reservations and on-demand delivery to hotel rooms. Uber One International means the membership programme now works globally, allowing members to earn credits on rides abroad that can be redeemed once back home. A new Shop for Me feature lets users request items from any store, even those not listed on the app. Eats for the Way allows riders in select cities booking an Uber Black or Uber Black SUV to have a drink or snack waiting for them in the car. Voice Bookings, powered by artificial intelligence, lets users book a ride conversationally, without touching their phone. And a redesigned One Search bar consolidates results for places, food and items across the entire Uber platform in a single query.
Uber has now logged more than 72 billion trips since it launched in 2010. The question it is now answering is what comes after the ride. The answer, apparently, is everything else. Whether users want a hotel in Paris, a coffee in the back of a car or a snake plant from the local garden centre, Uber would very much like to be the one to provide it. The app economy’s land grab has a new front-runner.
NOTE: The image used is AI generated and only for representational purposes.
