In a digital travel industry crowded with marketplaces that look--and charge--alike, one AI-powered startup is making the global hotel sector pause, rethink, and realign.
Meet cheQIn.ai: the hotel booking platform that doesn't just promise better prices--it delivers a new economic paradigm.
Founded by serial tech entrepreneur Venu G Somineni, cheQIn.ai fuses advanced AI with a radically fair business model: no commissions for hoteliers, real-time price competition for guests, and full transparency for everyone involved.
While incumbents scale through commissions and markups, cheQIn.ai has opted for something far more audacious--alignment.
The Traveler's Dilemma--and the Real Cost of "Convenience"
Every seasoned traveler knows the drill. You book a room for Rs3,000 (~$35), but what you don't see is that the hotel receives only Rs2,250. The difference? A 25% commission taken by the platform--unseen, unspoken, and almost always baked into your rate.
This quiet extraction has become the standard.
cheQIn.ai confronts it head-on.
Instead of charging hotels a percentage of every transaction, it operates on a subscription model--giving hoteliers full pricing control while enabling travelers to access unbeatable real-time deals, brokered by an AI engine that never sleeps.
"We're not just helping travelers save money," says Venu. "We're helping hotels keep what's rightfully theirs. That creates trust on both sides of the equation."
How the AI Works: Instant Bidding. Real Savings. Zero Hassle.
The cheQIn.ai experience begins with a traveler posting a stay request--location, dates, and preferences. Within moments, the platform's proprietary AI alerts all relevant hotels in that geography. The competition begins.
Each hotel enters a real-time bidding loop, adjusting prices based on the live offers of its peers. Hotel A might respond with Rs3,000. Hotel B counters at Rs2,700. Hotel C, seeking to win, drops to Rs2,500. The AI then surfaces the top five lowest bids, tailored to the traveler's needs and budget.
No need for coupons. No last-minute discounts. No guesswork.
This is bargaining, automated--bringing efficiency to the chaos of traditional price discovery.
The End of Commission Fatigue for Hotels
In an industry long dominated by 20-25% commission norms, independent hotels and boutique properties have often felt squeezed by the platforms they rely on. While their occupancy grows, their profits shrink. Guest data is withheld. Direct relationships are discouraged.
cheQIn.ai liberates hotels from that cycle.
Properties list for free. They pay a predictable, flat monthly fee based on bookings and region. More importantly, they regain ownership of their pricing, their branding, and their guest relationships.
"As a hotelier, commissions have always felt like a tax on growth," says the owner of a mid-size hotel group in Pune. "With cheQIn.ai, I'm in control again--and our repeat guest rate is climbing."
Global Reach, Local Impact
Though it launched quietly, cheQIn.ai's footprint is now anything but small. The platform already powers over 100,000 verified properties across India, Singapore, the UAE, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, Germany, and France.