In today’s world, convenience isn’t just appreciated, it’s expected. From booking cabs in seconds to ordering food at any hour, people are used to services adapting to their schedules. But for the longest time, hotel stays remained stuck in a rigid system of fixed check-in and check-out times.

That’s exactly the gap Prateek Singh decided to address.

In a candid conversation with Indian Startup Times, Prateek shared how a simple travel inconvenience turned into a business idea, the resistance he faced early on, and how focusing on real customer needs helped him build a scalable model.

When a Personal Problem Sparks a Business Idea

Prateek’s journey didn’t begin with a grand startup plan, it started with observation.

Back in 2015, while working at a European multinational company, his job required frequent travel. Over time, he began noticing a mismatch between modern consumer expectations and how hotels operated.

“Everything else, cabs, food, even groceries had become flexible. But hotels were still following fixed timings,” he recalls.

The idea truly clicked during a trip to Manali with friends. They arrived early in the morning but couldn’t check in because of standard hotel policies. What followed was frustration—and a simple question: why hasn’t this changed yet?

That moment planted the seed for what would later become Brevistay in 2016.

Challenging Perceptions and Breaking Stigma

The idea of hourly hotel bookings was new and not immediately welcomed.

“In the beginning, there was a lot of hesitation,” Prateek admits. “There was a certain stigma attached to the concept.”

Convincing hotel partners wasn’t easy. Many were unsure about associating with a model they didn’t fully understand. Rejections were common.

Instead of backing down, Prateek and his team decided to test the idea through small pilot projects in five cities. That’s where things started to change.

They discovered something crucial: hotels often had a large portion of their rooms lying empty during the day. This unused inventory became the foundation of their business model.

By offering flexible time slots and pricing rooms accordingly, they showed hotels a new way to increase revenue without any additional investment.

Building Trust, One Customer at a Time

While onboarding hotels was one side of the challenge, earning customer trust was another.

Prateek understood early on that for a concept like this to work, people needed to feel comfortable and safe using it.

“We focused a lot on customer experience, especially support,” he says. “Our team aims to resolve issues within 15 minutes.”

This commitment gradually built credibility.

Interestingly, while early users were mostly unmarried couples, the platform’s audience soon expanded. Today, it caters to a wide range of users business travelers needing short stays, parents waiting during exams, transit passengers with long layovers, and even professionals looking for a quiet workspace.

Building for Both Sides of the Market

One of the key strengths of Brevistay lies in how it balances the needs of both customers and hotel partners.

The company is currently working on a SaaS-based extranet platform that gives hotels more control allowing them to manage inventory, adjust pricing, and improve occupancy.

Prateek believes this balance is critical.

“You need to understand both your supply and demand side equally well,” he explains. “That’s how you build something that actually works in the long run.”

Navigating Setbacks and Finding Growth

Like most travel-related startups, Brevistay faced a tough phase during COVID-19. But instead of slowing down permanently, the team used that time to refine their approach.

Their efforts paid off.

Post-pandemic, the company raised 3 Cr in funding from Indian Angel Network, a milestone that validated both the idea and its execution.

For Prateek, fundraising wasn’t just about money.

“It’s about finding investors who truly understand your vision,” he says. “That alignment matters more than anything else.”

What’s Next for Brevistay?

Looking ahead, the focus is on making the experience even more seamless.

The team is working on combining hourly and full-day bookings into a more flexible system, expanding to new cities, and strengthening their tech platform for both users and hotel partners.

At its core, the goal remains simple: make hotel bookings as flexible as the rest of the services people use daily.

A Simple but Powerful Lesson for Founders

When asked what advice he’d give to aspiring entrepreneurs, Prateek keeps it straightforward:

“Don’t build on assumptions. Start with a real problem, test your idea, and keep improving based on feedback.”

Final Thoughts

What Prateek Singh is building isn’t just a business it’s a shift in how we think about travel and time.

By focusing on real-world problems and staying persistent despite early resistance, he’s helping reshape an industry that had remained unchanged for years.

And as travel continues to evolve, flexibility might not just be a feature it could soon become the norm.

Interview Conducted by : Arushi Agarwal