On 17 September 2026, OpenStays Private Limited received the Tourism Innovation Award at the FKCCI Tourism Convention 2026 in Bengaluru. The recognition came during the third edition of FKCCI’s Tourism Convention, organised by the Federation of Karnataka Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FKCCI) in association with the Department of Tourism, Government of Karnataka.
For our team, this was a proud moment. We work on the everyday challenges that accommodation providers face when they want to grow their business and serve guests well. To be recognised at a convention dedicated to the future of Karnataka’s tourism and hospitality sector makes the occasion especially meaningful.
A gathering for Karnataka’s tourism sector
The convention took place at Sir M. V. Auditorium, FKCCI, on K. G. Road in Bengaluru. Its theme, “Connecting Destinations | Empowering Enterprises”, captured an important idea: destinations become stronger when the people and businesses that welcome travellers have the support to succeed.
Karnataka has an extraordinary range of tourism experiences. Visitors come for heritage sites, wildlife, coffee country, coastal escapes, wellness, business travel and time with family and friends. Behind those experiences are hotels, homestays, villas, resorts and many other businesses that make a journey possible. Their daily work matters just as much as the destination itself.
The convention programme reflected that breadth. It set out sessions on Karnataka’s diverse tourism experiences, medical tourism and the role of AI and digital innovation in tourism. These are different subjects but they share a common question: how can the sector create better opportunities for enterprises while giving travellers a better experience?
The award session featured Sri M. R. Seetharam, MLC and Chairman and Managing Director of M.S. Ramaiah Developers & Builders Pvt. Ltd., as chief guest. Sri P. K. Murugan, President of JSW Steel Vijayanagar, delivered the keynote address. Smt. Uma Reddy, President of FKCCI, presided over the session. We are honoured that OpenStays’ work was recognised as part of this occasion.
The plaque presents the FKCCI Tourism Award 2026 in the Tourism Innovation Award category to OpenStays Private Limited. It recognises our contribution, innovation and efforts towards the growth, promotion and transformation of Karnataka’s travel, tourism and hospitality industry. It also speaks to excellence, sustainability and responsible heritage tourism practices.
We value the breadth of that recognition. Innovation in tourism is sometimes discussed only in terms of new technology. Technology matters, but its value is measured by what it helps people do. A useful tool should make a property easier to run, a booking easier to manage and a guest’s experience more dependable. That is the standard we try to bring to our work.
Built around the work of accommodation providers
OpenStays is built by property owners for property owners. We know that a booking is more than a date on a calendar. A guest may enquire on WhatsApp, ask about the room or the property, check availability, discuss the price, make a payment and share details needed for check-in. The property then has to keep track of the reservation and be ready to welcome the guest. When those steps are scattered across different places, even a small team can lose valuable time.
Our focus is to make those tasks more manageable for independent stays. OpenStays provides tools for direct bookings, availability and rate management, reservations, guest information and communication. Property owners can use a booking page, manage their inventory and keep the essential details of each stay together. Our live WhatsApp AI helps with guest enquiries and follow-ups using the property’s configured information. These are practical capabilities intended to support the people who do the hospitality work every day.
Direct bookings are particularly important for independent accommodation providers. A property should be able to build a relationship with its guests and decide how it manages enquiries, confirmations and payments. Different properties have different ways of operating, so a useful system must give owners control over those choices. The aim is to help a host spend less time piecing information together and more time preparing a good stay.
The same principle applies to guest records and day-to-day operations. Keeping information organised helps a team find what it needs when a guest arrives or when a reservation changes. Clear availability and rates help avoid confusion before a booking is confirmed. Timely communication can make a guest feel looked after even before the journey begins. These may sound like small improvements but they shape the experience of both the guest and the person running the property.
AI that works alongside the property team
One of our most important innovations is the way AI can assist a property on the WhatsApp number its guests already know. For many Indian stays, WhatsApp is where the real booking conversation happens. A guest may ask if a room is available for a long weekend, request a rate for a family, check whether breakfast is included or ask for directions. The enquiry can arrive while the owner is serving guests, during a busy checkout or late at night. A delayed reply can mean a missed opportunity, even when the property has exactly what the traveller needs.
OpenStays’ live WhatsApp AI can respond using the property’s configured availability, rates, policies and other information. It can help answer routine questions, share relevant details and keep an enquiry moving towards a booking. That means the response can reflect the property instead of giving a generic answer. It is a practical use of AI: connecting a conversation with the information a host already manages in OpenStays.
We have designed the experience so that the team remains in control. With WhatsApp coexistence on an eligible number, staff can keep using the WhatsApp Business app on their phones while OpenStays assists on that same number. A property can choose whether AI responds throughout the day, only during selected hours or after the team has had time to answer first. Staff can step into a conversation whenever a guest needs personal attention. Guests continue to use the familiar contact they already have.
The use of AI does not stop at a first enquiry. The same approach can help with common questions during a stay, such as check-in and checkout times, house rules or local information that the property has supplied. Questions that call for a person’s judgement should reach the host or team. Good hospitality depends on people who know their guests and their place. Our aim is to help them give timely answers while preserving that human connection.
We are also exploring how multilingual voice AI could make enquiries easier for more travellers and hosts. Innovation is an ongoing process of building, testing and improving what can genuinely help a property, rather than treating every idea as a finished feature.
A recognition shared with our community
This award is an encouraging milestone for the OpenStays team. It is also a reminder of the trust that property owners place in us when they tell us how they work, where they face difficulty and what would make their day easier. Those conversations guide the tools we build and the improvements we make.
We thank FKCCI for this recognition. We also thank the Department of Tourism, Government of Karnataka, for its association with a convention that brought attention to the opportunities and responsibilities ahead for the sector. We are grateful to the hosts, partners and well-wishers who have supported OpenStays.
Karnataka’s tourism story is written by many people. It includes those who develop destinations, those who preserve local heritage, those who run businesses and those who welcome travellers at the end of a long journey. We are glad to play a part by helping accommodation providers manage the work behind every stay.
Receiving the Tourism Innovation Award gives us fresh motivation to keep listening, keep building and keep improving. We look forward to supporting more independent stays in Karnataka and across India as they create better experiences for their guests and stronger businesses for themselves.
Leave a Reply