OpenStays

OpenStays is pitched at family-run homestays and small hotels in India that pay OTA commission on bookings and answer guest questions on WhatsApp. It tries to move more of that business onto the owner's own channels. You set up your rooms, rates and policies, add its booking widget to your website, and guests can check availability and book directly. Calendars can sync with other platforms through iCal.

Payment is flexible. You can ask for full payment, a part advance or payment at the property, and either use a supported gateway for automatic confirmation or verify direct UPI receipts yourself. Offline bookings can sit alongside online ones in the same calendar.

The WhatsApp AI assistant handles routine enquiries. A guest asks whether a double room is free for certain dates, and the assistant answers from your property details and sends a link to review the total and book. It can run alongside your WhatsApp Business app, and the site is preparing for guests who book through AI agents. Guest records collect ID details over WhatsApp, flag Form C requirements for foreign nationals and export a guest register.

OpenStays charges a yearly subscription and takes 0% commission on bookings. The small plan, for one property, is listed at ₹2,900 a year before GST in a Black Friday offer ending November 30, 2026, against a usual ₹10,000. The medium plan is ₹9,900 a year, and groups and chains get a custom quote from ₹1,00,000. Plans include free WhatsApp credits, 1,500 or 5,000, after which AI messages use paid credits. Payment-provider fees and GST are extra.

OpenStays Private Limited runs the service, and its privacy policy, updated October 18, 2026, is written for India's DPDP Act. It says the platform collects government ID documents such as Aadhaar or passports with OCR extraction, along with booking details and WhatsApp and voice AI conversation logs. ID data and booking records are kept for the periods hospitality and law-enforcement rules require, including police verification and Form C. Data is shared with hosts for confirmed bookings, with approved partners such as travel agents and AI agents, and with service providers including AI infrastructure, cloud hosting, payment gateways, Google and Meta. Reusing a guest's ID across properties needs their explicit consent. Since ID documents are sensitive, it's worth reading the full policy before turning that feature on.