Exclusive: Hotel aggregator Treebo’s marketing head quits after short stint

A top executive has resigned from Ruptub Solutions Pvt. Ltd, which operates hotel aggregator Treebo, a person familiar with the development told TechCircle.

Nishant Gupta, Treebo’s head of brand and marketing, has quit within three months of joining the firm, the person said on condition of anonymity.

A Treebo spokesperson confirmed the development in an email to TechCircle. 

“As part of the recent restructuring of the organisation, Nishant (Gupta) has moved out of his full time role at Treebo to pursue other opportunities. He continues to advise Treebo on our brand and marketing efforts,” the spokesperson said.

Gupta could not be immediately reached for comment. 

He has now joined online furniture retailer Urban Ladder as vice-president of marketing, according to his LinkedIn profile.

Gupta had joined Treebo in May this year. He was previously with fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) major Marico Ltd. He has an MBA from National Institute of Industrial Engineering and is an engineering graduate from Delhi College of Engineering.

The senior executive's departure comes on the heels of Treebo laying off 80 employees - around 10% of its workforce - as part of cost-cutting measures.

Treebo was founded in 2015 by former McKinsey and Myntra executives Rahul Chaudhary and Sidharth Gupta along with former MakeMyTrip executive Kadam Jeet Jain. The company has so far raised more than $50 million from investment firms including SAIF Partners, Matrix Partners, Bertelsmann India and others. It has over 300 hotel properties across 53 cities in the country.

The hotel aggregator last raised funds in August 2017, securing $34 million (Rs 220 crore) in a Series C round led by Hong Kong-based investment firms Ward Ferry Management and Karst Peak Capital.

In May this year, Treebo tread the inorganic growth path for the first time when it bought events and activities marketplace platform Events High for an undisclosed sum.

Startups like Treebo and peer FabHotels have been struggling to keep up with better-funded budget hotel chain OYO, which recently forayed into China.

For the financial year 2016-17, Treebo reported a 10-fold jump in revenue, but its net loss widened because of higher expenses. Total revenue rose to Rs 20.6 crore for 2016-17 from Rs 2.3 crore in 2015-16. Net loss expanded to Rs 73.5 crore from Rs 25.1 crore.