Bengaluru hoteliers association to join ONDC platform for food delivery

BENGALURU: With complaints of food delivery apps overcharging, the Bruhath Bangalore Hotels Association has has now decided to go online and reach out to customers directly, which will help both hoteliers and customers save cost. Presently, food delivery apps are known to charge slightly higher, as a result of which hotels and restaurants jack up prices to cover for the cost.

The hotel owners’ associations has now approached the central government and decided to tie up with the Open Network Digital Commerce (ONDC) platform, a private non-profit company established by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade of the Government of India to develop open e-commerce.

Bruhat Bangalore Hotels Association president P C Rao at an ONDC event.

Representatives of the hoteliers’ association and ONDC held a meeting on the issue and the association says that customers and hotel owners can save about 15 per cent by transacting through the platform.

“Online platforms have become very important these days. There is a duopoly presently and chances of cartelisation. The Central government has started the ONDC and through this, we intend to deliver food. Both customers and hotel owners will benefit. We will be one of the seller partners and hotels will be onboarded in stages. PhonePay is launching two new apps to bring in more competition as there are only two major players now, and we welcome this. We believe this will help both hotel owners and customers. The food industry has been onboarded on the ONDC platform for the first time in Bengaluru and we welcome it”, said PC Rao, President of the Bruhath Bangalore Hotels Association.