Zomato's new feature will hide menu prices when guests order food; Deepinder Goyal says... TOI Tech Desk / TIMESOFINDIA.COM / Oct 29, 2026, 12:59 IST Food delivery platform Zomato is all set to roll out a new feature called 'Mehmaan Mode' which will hide the prices of food items while placing order, after a suggestion from a user on LinkedIn caught the attention of Zomato CEO Deepinder Goyal. The feature aims to make group food ordering more comfortable by allowing hosts to pass around their phones without guests seeing the cost of individual dishes or the overall order. User suggests a new way to make group ordering easier on Zomato. The idea was proposed by LinkedIn user Ayushmaan Agarwalla, who shared a post suggesting that Zomato introduce a simple "Mehmaan Mode" for situations where friends, family members or guests are placing orders together. According to Agarwalla, it has become increasingly common for hosts to hand over their phones to guests so they can choose what they want to eat. However, the visibility of menu prices can sometimes create awkwardness, making people hesitant to order what they actually want. In his post, Agarwalla suggested a feature that would make prices disappear from the screen while guests browse menus and select dishes. Once the ordering is complete, the host could take the device back and proceed with payment. He argued that removing price visibility would allow guests to order more comfortably, without worrying about how expensive an item might appear to the person paying for the meal. You May Like 'No price, no embarrassment, no hesitation' Explaining the rationale behind the idea, Agarwalla wrote that a dedicated Mehmaan Mode would help eliminate the social discomfort that sometimes accompanies group ordering. "No price, no embarrassment and no hesitation," he wrote, adding that the feature could be particularly useful during the festive season, when friends and extended families often gather and order meals together. The suggestion resonated with many users online as it addressed a common social situation in which guests may consciously avoid ordering certain items after noticing their prices, even when the host has encouraged them to choose freely. Zomato CEO Deepinder Goyal responds. The proposal quickly received a response from Deepinder Goyal, who indicated that Zomato would move ahead with the feature. Replying to the LinkedIn post, the Zomato chief wrote, "Thanks for the suggestion. Shipping it this week. Wish you the happiest festive season." End of Article

What is Zomato's Mehmaan Mode? A new feature to help guests order food without any worry! Ordering food at friends' or family members' homes can sometimes feel awkward, especially when you check the prices. But what if you could browse the menu without worrying about the cost? Zomato is planning to introduce a new feature. by Priyanshi Shah Updated: October 29, 2026 4:58 PM Whenever Curly Tales visit friends or family, or they visit Curly Tales, ordering food is a common part of such meet-ups. But as guests, whether it's you or someone else, people often feel shy and hesitate to order after checking the prices. Zomato understands this and is planning to launch a new feature that will hide dish prices. Scroll down to learn more! How Zomato is planning to hide food prices? Zomato is planning to launch a new feature called "Mehmaan Mode." With this feature, the company aims to make food ordering for guests easier. When using the app in Mehmaan Mode, guests will be able to browse the menu comfortably and select dishes without worrying about the prices. This is a great idea to ensure guests don't feel awkward or compromise on what they want to eat. Zomato got this unique idea from a LinkedIn suggestion. Don't worry, you won't have to wait too long for this feature, as the company plans to launch it this week. However, Zomato has not yet shared the details of how the feature will work. Curly Tales is still waiting to learn who will be able to use it, how to activate it, and more. Who came up with this amazing idea? This unique idea was suggested by a marketing manager at Itu Chaudhuri Design, Ayushmaan Agarwalla. In a LinkedIn post, he tagged Zomato co-founder Deepinder Goyal, explaining the idea. According to the post, not showing the prices can help guests order food comfortably. And guess what? Deepinder Goyal actually liked the idea and wrote, "Thanks for the suggestion. Shipping it this week. Wish you the happiest festive season." According to him, Curly Tales can expect this feature on the app anytime soon, and Curly Tales is definitely not complaining. What do you think about this new feature? Tell Curly Tales in the comments below! Cover Image Courtesy: Canva Pro/ Rido (Representative Image) FAQs. When was Zomato first launched? Zomato was first launched on July 10, 2008. In which city Zomato was first launched? Zomato was first launched in Gurugram, Haryana, India. Who are the founders of Zomato? The current founder of Zomato is Deepinder Goyal. Priyanshi Shah is a Content Writer at Curly Tales with 4 years of experience in writing. She loves writing about fashion, food, travel and entertainment. She has completed her graduation with a Bachelor of Business Administration (Marketing) from Gujarat University in Ahmedabad. What keeps Priyanshi going is hot chocolate, books and rom-com movies. For more such snackable content, interesting discoveries and the latest updates on food, travel and experiences in your city, download the Curly Tales App. Download HERE. First Published: October 29, 2026 4:57 PM

SkillBox has launched an "AI-powered 'event creation' engine. Indian live entertainment company SkillBox has launched Zenith Studio, an "AI-powered 'event creation' engine" that enables organisers to generate listings, descriptions, ticketing information and artwork using a single-line prompt or uploaded poster. Its launch has been accompanied by a new logo and redesigned app and website that "reflects the breadth" of its businesses. They now span ticketing, artist management, concert promotion, festival curation and production, marketing and brand solutions, and proprietary technology such as its cashless payment system SkillBox Pay. The Gurugram-headquartered enterprise now boasts 6.3m registered users - a significant jump from the 1.5m it had in November 2024 when Warner Music announced that it had made a minority investment in the company, SkillBox has sold 21.4m tickets since it started operations almost a decade ago, and currently enjoys a 37% repeat-customer rate, reveals the press announcement. Earlier this week, co-founder and CEO Anmol Kukreja shared some more stats, related to both his company and India's live music industry as whole, in an interview with Storyboard18. Revenues jumped almost 200% in FY2026, with brand sponsorships - chiefly in the form of surrogate advertising by alcohol and cigarette makers - contributing as much as 30% of income, Kukreja told the news platform. Highlighting the lack of concert infrastructure in India, he said that production-related expenses account for 30% to 35% of the costs SkillBox incurs when putting up a show, making it the second-highest outflow after artist fees. The emergence of purpose-built gig venues could lower this down to 15% to 20%, he said. In the interim, the company has started diversifying by selling tickets for sporting events, starting with those for the ongoing Super League Kerala football tournament. Sports, Kukreja believes, "would even become larger than the music side" because of the size of the industry and frequency of matches. It's a strategic move for SkillBox, which operates in an oligopoly of sorts where the major players include such deep-pocketed rivals as BookMyShow and District by Zomato, and recent entrants like ThumpN. In this competitive environment, platforms are increasingly giving advances to promoters to secure exclusive ticketing partnerships, a development that's been putting additional pressure on profitability, Kukreja said.