With over seven years of experience in SEO, digital marketing, organic growth and brand building, Ajaypal Singh Rathore is bringing a digital-first approach to hospitality through Footra. In this interview, he discusses the journey from digital strategy to hospitality, the importance of consumer behaviour, the challenges of building guest experiences and his vision for Footra’s future.
Q. After building a career in SEO, digital marketing and brand strategy, what led you to enter the hospitality industry and start Footra?
Ajaypal Singh Rathore: I have spent more than seven years working across SEO, organic growth, digital strategy and brand building. A major part of my work has always been understanding consumer behaviour what people search for, what builds trust and why they choose one brand over another.
Hospitality gave me an opportunity to apply those learnings to something much more physical and experience-driven.
That is how Footra started. Today, we have Footra Stay & Cafe and Khaarka Villa by Footra, which caters to a different kind of traveller looking for a private villa experience.
But the vision was never limited to one hotel or one villa. The larger aim is to build Footra as a hospitality brand with stays, villas, cafés and different experience-led properties under one umbrella.
Q. How has your understanding of consumer behaviour and digital strategy influenced the way you have built and positioned Footra in the hospitality space?
Ajaypal Singh Rathore: My work in SEO and digital strategy has taught me that consumer decisions rarely happen at one single touchpoint.
A traveller may discover a property on Google, check Instagram, compare it on a booking platform, read reviews and then finally make a decision.
So while building Footra, I try to look at the complete customer journey rather than only the booking.
We also understand that different audiences have different requirements. Someone looking for a stay in Udaipur may value location, affordability and accessibility, while a family or group booking Khaarka Villa may care more about privacy, space and the overall villa experience.
That understanding helps us build and communicate each Footra offering differently while keeping the overall brand identity consistent.
Q. What are some of the biggest challenges you have encountered while building Footra, and how have your previous experiences in digital marketing helped you navigate them?
Ajaypal Singh Rathore: The biggest difference between digital marketing and hospitality is that hospitality is extremely operational.
In digital, you can analyse something, make changes and optimise it over time. In hospitality, the guest is experiencing your brand in real time.
Small things cleanliness, communication, staff behaviour, food, maintenance, check-in experience or even how quickly you respond to a guest can influence the perception of the entire brand.
My digital background has helped me approach this systematically. I naturally look at reviews, customer feedback, booking patterns and recurring issues as data points.
It has also taught me the importance of reputation. Today, a single guest experience can turn into a Google review, an Instagram story or a recommendation to hundreds of other people.
So for me, operations and digital reputation are directly connected.
Q. In a competitive hospitality market, what do you believe makes a brand memorable to today’s consumers, and how is Footra creating a distinct experience or identity for its audience?
Ajaypal Singh Rathore: I believe consumers remember experiences and feelings more than features.
A property can have good rooms, a pool or a great location, but what guests usually remember is whether they felt comfortable, welcomed and whether the experience matched what was promised.
With Footra, we are trying to build that identity around comfort, value and experience.
Footra Stay & Cafe gives travellers a stay along with a social and café experience, while Khaarka Villa by Footra offers a more private experience for families and groups.
Going forward, every Footra property may have a different format and personality, but the underlying promise should remain consistent.
That consistency is what eventually turns individual properties into a brand.
Q. Looking ahead, what is your vision for Footra, and what role do you see technology, digital marketing and evolving consumer preferences playing in its next phase of growth?
Ajaypal Singh Rathore: My long-term vision is to build Footra into a recognised hospitality brand with stays, villas, cafés and other experience-led concepts.
Footra Stay & Cafe and Khaarka Villa by Footra are the initial building blocks of that vision.
From my professional work, I can already see how rapidly consumer discovery is changing. Earlier, a traveller might primarily search on Google or an OTA. Today, discovery can happen through Instagram, Reddit, AI platforms like ChatGPT, Google AI experiences, reviews and creator content.
My current work also involves understanding areas like AI-driven search, GEO, AEO and changing search behaviour, so I believe the next generation of hospitality brands will have to think beyond traditional digital marketing.
Technology can help us understand demand, personalise communication, improve operations and make the booking journey easier.
But I also believe hospitality should never become completely technology-driven. The human experience will always remain at the centre.
The aim for Footra is therefore to combine strong hospitality fundamentals with modern technology and digital-first brand building, and gradually create a brand that people recognise and trust across different hospitality experiences.