Founded by Femi Okanla and Kingsley Moka, Nitestay is a hotel booking and reservation website, that affords the luxury of choosing a hotel accommodation from anywhere and anytime. The site also offers travel guide information on shopping malls, cinemas, concerts and car hire around Nigeria .Speaking to TechMoran, Moka said, “We are looking at creating an international hotel booking and logistics provision site which is capable to cater for the needs of any individual no matter their location and need. We hope to grow beyond the shores of Nigeria and beyond the shores Africa likewise.”
Though Nitestay has not received any funding yet, the firm has launched leading initiatives in the online hotel booking service in Nigeria such as “Pay at Hotel” for customers that choose to make payment at check in. Other leading initiatives include receiving booking confirmation as text message (sms), customer reviews as well as unbelievable hotel discounts and deals.
Moka said their model is to let Nitestay grow organically and are not seeking funds for expansion. Even though the online hotel booking and reservation segment is still fairly new in Africa, Moka says its growing rapidly and the number of new entrants into this sector have increased drastically over the past one year.
Moka adds that Nitestay can’t be categorized as start-up anymore, as its one of the pioneers and major players in the online hotel booking segment in Nigeria, however, for anyone who wants to start up an online business, he advises they should plan and understand the target market. Most importantly entrepreneurs should have the desire to provide excellent and quality service to customers should serve as the motivation.
Founded three years ago, Nitestay connects a platform for hotel users and hotel service providers. It’s an easy to use website with the basic search for hotel feature and provides options for booking hotels. The booking process can be summarized as the customer gets on the site, finds the hotel room that suits his or her budget, select a check-in date and number of days to stay and then proceed to checkout. There are a variety of payment options allowing the customer to either pay online with Nitestay’s or choose to make payment at check-in with Nitestay’s solution.
Nitestay is not just for tourists, business travelers but anyone who travels, or need a break from the hustle of everyday life. The platform helps one pick some form of temporal accommodation be it officers from government agencies, religious organizations and the small and medium enterprises. In turn, Nitestay earns a commission on every booking made on the site.
“We decided to move into the online hotel reservation business because as at the time there was no online platform for hotel bookings and reservations. We looked to create an online hotel supermart where customers can have the added dimension of variety in making hotel bookings, says Moka. “We focus on ensuring that hotel users get the best possible experience and deals available, bridge the gap between hotel owners and the customers by helping travelers in securing a hotel room prior to arrival.”Moka says the hotel booking segment is a very lucrative sector considering the volume of demand for hotel accommodation on a daily basis. They allow customers to place group bookings too, which are working well in Nigeria. Nitestay has signed an affiliation with hotels.com and has several partnerships to enable them provide additional value added services to its customers.
There have been challenges too just like for any businesses, ” but every business has the most important to overcome the challenges peculiar to your business segment to achieve growth,’ says Moka. We believe our strength is our unparalleled focus on customer satisfaction.”
Nitestay’s almost 3 year span is a testament to the fact that they are doing well.