Saloni Bhatia – New Delhi
Hellotravel is a new marketplace aggregating travellers and agents to make planning and booking trips easy and convenient. With over two million active users, the online portal has 13,000 travel packages available from over 5,000 travel agents. Available on both website as well as app, it simply assists the travellers in booking the right package. Gaurav Gupta, co-founder and CMO, Hellotravels.com, said, “Layers between a traveller and local travel agent increase the overall cost of a package. Whereas using us, travellers get access to the most competitive rates for their trip, and travel agents can customise the deals. Online travel portals sell their services after adding their margins which puts a dent in consumer delight.”
Speaking on travel agents’ presence on the portal, he elaborated, “We want Hellotravel to be one-stop-shop for travellers for all their travel needs. Be it visa, ticketing, accommodation, sightseeing, car rental, tour guide or any other travel related service. Secondly, booking with local travel agents ensure competitive pricing for travellers. Travelling through a local travel agent, who has first-hand insider knowledge on the destination, ensures that travellers gets what they expect from the destination and not a standard itinerary usually sold to them. We have over 5,000 travel agents from 50 countries and 80 per cent of our agents have received more than 4.2 / 5 rating on their overall service.”All of the portal’s bookings come through the agents and over 70 per cent travellers travel with an agent connected through HelloTravel. The company is currently focusing on domestic/outbound sector in India, and adding agents from all zones within India. “We also have a dedicated team which is building a base of international travel agents. Travel agencies and their businesses in India have traditionally been seasonal and unorganised with pricing variations that are unimaginable. We are trying to sift through that clutter and also work on lending some element of credibility to these businesses for the travellers, while at the same time ensuring a sellers’ market for the agents,” he added.