STAAH, a global hospi-tech solutions provider, has announced a key milestone with over 30,000 live properties now using its platform across the world. This includes more than 8,000 properties in India, underlining the brand’s strong growth in the domestic market alongside its expanding global footprint.

The achievement reflects the growing confidence hoteliers place in STAAH’s cloud-based solutions at a time when global travel is steadily regaining momentum. From independent hotels and resorts to groups and chains, STAAH’s technology is helping properties simplify daily operations, improve distribution, and drive better revenue outcomes.

STAAH’s product portfolio includes Channel Manager, Booking Engine, Review Management, Global Distribution System, and other hospitality technology solutions. Together, these offerings support over 30,000 properties in managing online visibility, optimising bookings, and adapting to an increasingly digital hospitality environment.

Commenting on the milestone, Tarun Joukani (Director, STAAH) said, "Reaching 30,000 live properties is a testament to our relentless focus on innovation and customer success. We've seen explosive growth in key markets like India, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East, where hoteliers are embracing digital transformation to boost occupancy, streamline operations, and maximize revenue. This milestone positions us to empower even more properties as global tourism rebounds."

Headquartered in New Zealand, STAAH is a well-established hospitality technology platform that supports accommodation providers including hotels, motels, and vacation rentals. The company enables properties to grow online bookings and revenue through a user-friendly system that manages Online Travel Agents, direct bookings, and online reputation.

Founded by Gavin Jeddo in 2008, STAAH currently partners with over 20,000 properties across 90 countries. Its operations span New Zealand, Australia, India, UAE, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, the UK, and Europe. The company continues to deliver solutions across Channel Management, Booking Engine, Websites, Vouchers, Reputation Management, and Global Distribution System, reinforcing its position as a trusted technology partner for the hospitality industry.

With the Union Budget 2026 set to be presented in the first week of February, expectations are building across the hospitality, tourism, and food services sectors. Industry leaders are looking to the upcoming budget for measures that can strengthen travel infrastructure, support sustainable tourism, ease operational pressures, and recognise the sector’s role in employment generation.

Sharing her views, Shruti Shibulal, Executive Vice Chair of the Board of Directors at Tamara Leisure Experiences, highlighted the opportunity for the budget to further strengthen India’s travel and tourism ecosystem. She said, "The approaching Union Budget has a strong opportunity to further strengthen India's travel and tourism ecosystem through focused interventions that promote ease of access, visibility and local employment."

She emphasised the need to identify and promote new destinations, particularly across North India and the North East, to attract new traveller segments and ensure balanced regional growth. Improved connectivity under the UDAN scheme, she noted, could also help ease pressure on overcrowded destinations by redirecting tourist flows. On sustainable tourism, she pointed to India’s potential in nature-centric travel and suggested that a calibrated relaxation of wildlife sanctuary guidelines, while maintaining strict conservation norms, could support future-ready tourism development.

Shruti Shibulal also underscored the importance of simplifying visas for health and wellness tourism, extending the PRASAD scheme to more destinations with timely execution, and giving a focused policy push to cruise tourism along India’s coastline to enhance global competitiveness. Stressing safety and ease of travel, she called for a dedicated focus on tourism police under police modernisation schemes. She further added that support for rural cooperatives, along with sustained investment in skill development and local employment generation, especially in rural and emerging destinations, would help create participative tourism models that benefit local communities.

From the food services perspective, Pranav Rungta, Cofounder and Director of Nksha Restaurant and Vice President of NRAI Mumbai, spoke about the financial pressures facing the sector. He said, "The hospitality and food services sector is at a critical inflection point. Revisiting the GST notification on commercial leases under the Reverse Charge Mechanism would provide much-needed relief to operators already managing tight cash flows."

He also highlighted the need to reintroduce support mechanisms such as SEIS to strengthen restaurants that contribute to foreign exchange earnings. According to him, the sector requires targeted subsidies, easier access to debt for SMEs, and formal industry status, given its significant contribution to employment. He further added that a dedicated food services ministry, along with structured employee welfare initiatives, would play a key role in building a more resilient and sustainable hospitality ecosystem.

As the industry awaits the Union Budget 2026, these expectations reflect a broader call for policy clarity, financial relief, and long-term structural support to help hospitality and allied sectors continue their growth momentum.

De Beers Group, the world’s leading diamond company, marks its debut at India Art Fair 2026 with Voyage Through the Diamond Realm, an immersive artistic experience that positions natural diamonds as nature’s original masterpieces. The installation will be on view from 5th to 8th February 2026 at NSIC Grounds, Okhla, as part of the upcoming edition of India Art Fair.

First unveiled in London, Voyage Through the Diamond Realm arrives in India as a reflection on the artistry of nature itself. For centuries, diamonds have occupied a singular place in human history, shaped by myth, ritual and emotion. Formed over billions of years, they have come to symbolise celebration, strength, truth and love, carrying stories that span generations, cultures and time. The exhibition invites visitors to view diamonds not merely as precious objects, but as vessels of natural art and human meaning.

For its India presentation, De Beers collaborates with textile artist Lakshmi Madhavan, extending the narrative through Kasavu, Kerala’s traditional gold handwoven textile. Developed in collaboration with the Balaramapuram weaving community, the work draws a parallel between diamonds and living textile traditions. Both are shaped by time, transformation and touch, highlighting ornamentation as an enduring human instinct  from the first cloth ever draped to the diamond as a convergence of geological and cultural time.

A key highlight of the presentation is the showcase and sale of five rare coloured natural diamonds in Pink, Yellow, Orange, Light Blue and Chameleon hues. Among the rarest colours found in nature, these diamonds reveal the extraordinary diversity created deep within the earth, each gem standing as a distinct expression of nature’s artistry.

The installation also traces the legendary origins of natural diamonds, from their birth as stardust in the fiery hearts of stars to their discovery across rivers, deserts and icy terrains. Through these narratives, the work explores how diamonds have inspired humanity’s most enduring stories about life and our place in the universe.

Speaking on De Beers’ debut at India Art Fair, Shweta Harit, Global Senior Vice President of De Beers Group and CEO of Forevermark – Natural Diamonds, Category Marketing, De Beers Group, said, “India Art Fair provides a powerful platform to celebrate natural diamonds as nature's art - formed over billions of years and rich with meaning. Through Voyage Through the Diamond Realm, we wanted to place diamonds within a cultural and creative context, highlighting their rarity, beauty, and enduring connection to human expression and adornment.”

With this presentation, De Beers enters India’s evolving art landscape through a showcase that brings together craftsmanship, creativity and cultural storytelling. Voyage Through the Diamond Realm represents the second chapter in a global series of immersive experiences, set to tour the U.S. and China through 2026.

The experience can be viewed at India Art Fair 2026, NSIC Grounds, Okhla, from 5th to 8th February 2026. Visitor passes are available on BookMyShow.