Chennai, Oct. 23 -- Gangaikonda Cholapuram, the capital of the Chola dynasty for over 250 years, was once a bustling place. Today, it is a sleepy village, with very few good places to stay around the heritage site.

45-year-old Arunram realized this while planning a long weekend with his family recently. He needed a star hotel close to the heritage site and near the highway as he wanted to drive from Chennai.

While researching, his first stop was Agoda, an international online travel booking portal. Unhappy with the choices the site returned, he fell back on MakeMyTrip, India's largest online travel agency (OTA) and a platform he had used in the past.

This time, Arunram wasn't disappointed. He found a small hotel, Merrytale, with a rati...