According to Roy, 73Coffees.com is amongst the new generation Web-services which brings together corporate event planners, industry associations and hotels in a new interactive format, where they can do a brisk and productive business.

``Our sytem enables them to save up to 70 per cent of their time and costs in the process,'' adds Roy. In a bid to cater to the event planning needs of the corporates, the B2B portal offers a database of information on vendors, suppliers, audio visual makers, banner-designers, and industry associations, amongst other related information.

``We have also listed around 1,000 hotels and venues across India and Asia Pacific region. So, you can search and send in your requests to various hotels. And then, bid and enter your budget and let our affiliate hotels match your price,'' elaborates Roy.

As for the rationale behind the launch of an event-planning portal, Roy predicts that the Net will grow from a user-base of 2 million to 30 million in the next three years. ``So, we launched a portal that's styled and scripted especially for the hospitality industry. In fact, 73Coffees.com is India's first event planning portal,'' claims Roy.

In an effort to create awareness for the new portal, the company is all set to hire the services of an Indian advertising agency. ``We prefer to go for a creative boutique rather than a traditional mainstream agency,'' says Roy.As part of its marketing strategy, the company will be launching a multi- media advertising campaign to promote the company. Roy strongly believes that physical world advertising is very crucial in India. ``Outdoor and print media still stand out. So, we plan to use a mix of various media. We hope to use outdoor as well as online medium to promote our brand,'' adds Roy.

As for its future plans, Roy informs that 73Coffees.com is in the process of finalising franchisee offices all over the country. ``We would also look at partnering with leading portals, ISPs and leading travel sites,'' adds Roy.