MakeMyTrip has launched Price Drop Protection on flight bookings, an add-on that pays travellers back if the fare falls after they book, BW Travel reported on 28 September 2026. It costs Rs 229 per person on domestic flights and Rs 349 per person on international flights, on one-way and round-trip bookings.

The launch shows India’s largest OTA changing what it sells. The ticket is now only part of the purchase. Around it sits a growing set of paid add-ons, each one covering a risk the traveller once carried alone after payment went through: a trip called off, a flight moved and, from this week, a fare that drops.

Price Drop Protection: from selling seats to selling certainty

MakeMyTrip’s protection add-ons already covered cancellation and schedule changes. Price Drop Protection extends them to fare moves after booking. Each risk now carries its own price at checkout, and each price is ancillary revenue for the platform rather than for the airline.

Before this, a cheaper fare after payment was simply money lost. A buyer who expected prices to fall had one option: hold off and hope the fare did not climb instead. That gamble now has a fixed cost, starting at Rs 229 a head, and the reason to wait goes away.

“Travellers should not have to choose between booking early and worrying that fares may fall later. Price Drop Protection lets them book when it works for them, with the reassurance that if the fare drops, they are protected,” said Raj Rishi Singh, COO of Flights, Corporate, GCC and Marketing at MakeMyTrip.

How the cover pays out

The refund has a ceiling, set out in MakeMyTrip’s terms and conditions. A domestic one-way passenger gets the fare difference or Rs 2,500, whichever is lower. The limit is Rs 5,000 on a domestic round trip, Rs 3,000 on an international one-way and Rs 6,000 on an international round trip.

Cover runs from booking until 6 hours before the scheduled departure. Fare changes in those final 6 hours do not count. MakeMyTrip alerts the traveller when a drop occurs. A claim can be lodged on the platform only after the trip is flown, and within 30 days of the scheduled departure date. The refund goes back to the original payment method.

MakeMyTrip (India) Private Limited provides the protection. Across Assist Private Limited provides assistance services but not the protection itself.

What does not count as a drop

The terms rule out several kinds of cheaper fare. Flash sales and promotional offers do not count. Neither do coupon codes, cashback, loyalty or reward fares, non-public fares or system errors. A lower fare caused by a cut in government taxes, airport charges or regulatory fees is excluded too.

Any change to the trip voids the cover: a rescheduled or cancelled flight, or an amended booking, including a new date. Charter and non-scheduled flights cannot be protected.

BW Travel says the feature is “currently, in a testing phase” and that “among those who opted for it, a large number of people saw a price drop on both domestic and international flights”. It gives no figure. Moneycontrol also reported the launch on 28 September.

Who it hits

Airline revenue managers feel it first. A buyer holding the cover has less reason to sit on the fence, so demand that once waited for a cheaper seat can book earlier. Airline flash sales and promotional fares fall outside the cover, so they still pull buyers on the airline’s own terms.

Rival Indian OTAs, among them ixigo, Cleartrip and EaseMyTrip, now face a competitor that earns a fee from fare movement itself. The contest at checkout shifts from who shows the lowest fare to who takes the most risk off the buyer, and how many protection products a traveller will pay for on a single ticket.

For OTAs and airlines elsewhere in APAC, the terms read as a ready template: a flat fee per person, a cap by route type, a cut-off 6 hours before departure and claims only after travel. Hotels and DMCs that package Indian flights should note that the cover applies to the flight alone.

MakeMyTrip Group CEO Rajesh Magow takes the WiT Singapore main stage on 1 October, from 10:10 to 10:30, in a session titled “Building for the Next Billion: The India Story”.

Key takeaway

OTAs with a large flight business should test a fare-protection add-on now, and MakeMyTrip’s terms already show where to draw the lines: no promotions, a cut-off before departure and claims after travel. Airline revenue teams in India should ask OTA partners whether early bookings rise on routes where the cover sells. Hotels and DMCs can wait, because the cover changes when a flight is bought, not what the traveller spends on arrival. We will be watching whether Rajesh Magow takes the add-on story further in Singapore.

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Alibaba’s map app Amap and the Singapore Tourism Board launched Singapore Street Stars on 18 September, a set of seven themed rankings covering 104 attractions, neighbourhoods and lifestyle places across the city state, the two partners announced in a joint release.

The lists sit inside the Amap app and follow the Street Stars format Amap introduced a year ago. The seven themes are Photo-Perfect Spots, Where Family Fun Begins, After-Dark Adventures, Next-Gen Crowd Favourites, Nature’s Reset, Curated Finds, and Local Life, Real Finds. Gardens by the Bay, Merlion Park and Sentosa Island appear alongside Joo Chiat Road, Haji Lane, Maxwell Food Centre and Tiong Bahru Market, so the rankings mix the postcard sights with the hawker centres and side streets that repeat visitors look for.

What Amap Street Stars does

Amap launched Street Stars on 10 September 2025 as an AI ranking for the app’s 170 million daily active users, covering more than 300 cities and 1.6 million local businesses at launch, Alibaba Group said at the time. The ranking synthesises navigation patterns and user reviews rather than editorial picks. It also uses user-consented trust metrics such as credit ratings to counter biased reviews and rating manipulation. Amap CEO Guo Ning put it in one line: “Authenticity is the ranking’s core principle.”

Amap backed the original launch with over 1 billion RMB in subsidies for consumer transport and offline spending, and said it expected the lists to bring an additional 10 million daily customers to listed businesses. The Singapore release names no subsidy and no fee for the businesses listed. The lists are live in the app now.

Who it hits

The audience is the Chinese traveller planning or already on a Singapore trip. Amap platform data show the average daily number of users searching Singapore-related content in the 2026 summer season rose 52.3% against June 2026. Attraction searches rose 91.2%, shopping searches 87.4% and dining searches 70.9%. Those are searches on a map app, which means they happen close to the point of decision: which hawker centre tonight, which mall this afternoon.

For a hotel, attraction, restaurant or retailer in Singapore, that makes a Chinese map app a discovery channel with its own ranking algorithm. TechNode Global, reporting the launch, noted that participating restaurants, hotels and retailers gain another route into the travel behaviour of Chinese visitors using Amap before and during trips. A DMC or OTA selling Singapore to mainland clients now has a third-party list its customers will see whether or not the operator’s own itinerary agrees with it.

The timing matters. Singapore Tourism Board’s August 2026 arrivals figures show 1.61 million international visitors, down 0.3% year on year, and January to August arrivals of 11.43 million, down 1.7%. Mainland China was the largest source market in August at 435,440 arrivals, up 9.4%, with an average stay of 3.71 days, according to Travel And Tour World. The one market growing is the one this ranking serves.

What the partners say

Andrew Phua, Chief Representative and Executive Director, Greater China, at the Singapore Tourism Board, said the rankings “rely on actual users’ preferences reflecting authentic recommendations”. Liu Li, General Manager of Amap’s Information Platform Business, said Amap “will continue to explore localised rankings and services suited to different countries and regions”, which reads as a signal that Singapore is the first stop rather than the only one.

What came before

Before 18 September, Amap’s ranking covered businesses in the 300-plus cities of its original launch, and a Singapore business had no entry in it. Street Stars is also different from a listing a business writes itself. Navigation data and reviews from Amap users decide the rank, and the trust layer built to counter rating manipulation filters what counts. That leaves a Singapore operator with one lever: the experience visitors have and what they say about it afterwards.

Key takeaway

Any Singapore hotel, attraction, restaurant or retailer that counts on mainland China arrivals should open Amap this week, find whether it appears in one of the seven lists, and read what Amap users say about it, because that content now shapes the choices of the largest source market. OTAs and DMCs selling Singapore to China should check their itineraries against the 104 picks before a client does. Tourism boards elsewhere in APAC can wait, but we would read Liu Li’s line about other countries and regions as notice that Amap will come calling.

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There are a number of ‘smart ships’ sailing out there. Laced with all the luxury that one could think of for a fun-packed, utterly comfortable experience on the seas, these cruise ships are also loaded with technology. Take, for instance, MSC Bellissima in which each cabin boasts of a virtual assistant – similar to Apple’s Siri – that can help one navigate the humongous ship. Called ZOE, this virtual assistant can help one with reservations, tell what’s on the menu and in which part of their extensively elaborate restaurant, help plan an excursion, and pay bills. 

Power to the passengers

The pandemic had brought the tourism estate to a standstill, and this gave time to the cruise companies to up their game and provide a better, smoother experience to their customers. ZOE on MSC Bellissima is a cherry on top for on-boarders who now have tech-supported access to know the Bellissima that has a multi-purpose karaoke bar, comedy club, TV studio & Bar, an amusement park, and a sports center, water parks, 12 dining venues, and 20 bars. ZOE has been programmed to keep learning with every interaction, and if she didn’t immediately know a particular question – let’s say, which of the ship’s dining spots serves baked lasagna – she will adapt, learn, and will know next time. The ‘MSC for Me’ app is the platform through which the cruisers can access the facilities of digital technology that literally interconnects the guests, the crew and the ship, your time on board is in your hands. The easy-to-use interactive touchscreens around the ship, the In-Cabin Smart TV, and the app – all take the cruising experience to a whole new level.

Cruise ships are increasingly adopting Internet of Things (IoT) systems to support smart wearables on board. Cell phone connectivity is spotty at sea, and many people keep phones off to avoid expensive data roaming charges, making apps impractical for contact-free interactions, but IoT systems enable fast connections and data sharing even in the middle of the ocean.

Hassle-free modus operandi

As well as enhancing the passenger experience, the latest technology being introduced by the major cruise lines can ease concerns about health issues associated with close contact. Royal Caribbean’s seamless check-in is one example of the touchless boarding experience, allowing passengers to take a selfie and scan their passports. From there, Royal Caribbean’s partnership with Tascent Inc has resulted in a smart door device that can control access to a stateroom or common area using facial recognition. Enabled with a wide-angle camera, the smart device detects a person’s face in its field of view, uses facial recognition algorithms to identify the person, and unlocks the door if the person is authorized to enter. It eliminates the need to constantly carry a key card during a cruise. There’s also a robot-powered Bionic Bar, where robotic arms mix up custom cocktails, along with a skydiving simulator and North Star, a viewing pod that provides 360-degree views from 300 feet above sea level. You’ll also find RFID baggage tracking, state-of-the-art internet connectivity, and USB power ports in every guest room.

Tech-Providers penetrating the cruising business

TraceSafe, a global leader in location-aware Internet of Things (IoT) platforms for large-scale industrial and enterprise operations, were the one behind Royal Caribbean’s custom wearable devices and bands that are equipped with long-lasting batteries and RFID modules. MSC Bellissima’s personalized digital assistant service ‘MSC for Me’ is an innovation partnership with tech giant Samsung. Carnival Corporation — Princess Cruises’ parent company — debuted its latest open seas innovation: the Ocean Medallion, a tiny wearable device that will allow passengers to have a largely hands-free experience. Created with the assistance of the tech whizzes at Nytec, the waterproof device — which can be worn as a bracelet or necklace, on your belt or simply be dropped into your pocket – works a bit like your very own butler.

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To shrink friction in the global travel environment, American Express Global Business Travel (Amex GBT) announced the launch of a set of “ flight disruption management solutions”. American Express Global Business Travel (GBT) is the world’s leading B2B travel platform, providing software and services to manage travel, expenses, and meetings & events for companies of all sizes.

Disruption Management Solutions?

Amex GBT says that the disruption management solutions provided by them will aid on-road-travelers in quickly managing flight disruptions, and will also give travel managers insights into the impact of disruptions on their travel programs. To put it simply, ‘flight disruption’ is when a scheduled flight is canceled, or delayed for two hours or more, within 48 hours of the originally scheduled departure time. Flight delays not only irritate air passengers and disrupt their schedules but also cause a decrease in efficiency, an increase in capital costs, reallocation of flight crews and aircraft, and additional crew expenses.

How airline disruption management works

Airline disruption management involves providing customers with real-time updates on cancellations and delays in their flight schedule and enabling them to rebook or get a refund on their tickets during flight disruptions either on their own or by interacting with a customer support representative or chatbot. Mark McSpadden, Vice President of Product Strategy and User Experience at Amex GBT, said “As business travelers get back on the road, companies are putting more stock into the end-to-end travel experience. They want to reduce travel friction while giving employees more autonomy to plan, book and modify trips. We have prioritized developments that expand our unique proactive assistance services. Today, they deliver more actionable information and more convenient ways for travelers to stay connected to everything they need at every stage of their journey.”

Disruption Management – A boon for airlines

As helpful as it is for on-road travelers, flight disruption management can be a boon for airline companies. Due to the competitive nature of the airline sector, airlines must constantly reimagine the customer experience that they are serving. A large part of a great customer support experience is the effectiveness with which the companies are managing the disruptions. A number of complications may arise while handling a flight disruption, but it shall be in the airline’s best interest to prioritize their customers. Most customers expect prompt updates about delays or cancellations and failing to do this will result in bad reviews on the internet, considering how heavily mediated society is at the moment. 

A peek into Amex GBT’s disruption management

Amex GBT’s Proactive Traveler Care (PTC) can send suggestions to travelers for alternative flights in case of disruptions. Travelers can even connect with travel counselors via Whatsapp now, in addition to Amex Mobile App channels. 

PTC service constantly monitors travelers’ trips and contacts them as soon as a trip is delayed or canceled using an automated messaging system. The interaction can take place at the travelers’ convenience, in their preferred channel, with quick access to options across carriers. In the Amex GBT Mobile app, travelers can now share real-time trip changes with friends, partners, colleagues, and clients via their preferred channel.

Amex GBT’s cloud-based reporting tool will have a new dashboard called ‘Insights’ where travel managers can track the impact of disruptions on their customers and improve their services. This information includes the number of flights impacted, the percentage of travelers engaging with PTC, and the airlines most affected.

As flight disruptions are commonplace when it comes to traveling, disruption management can be a tool to maximize customer satisfaction, maintain comfortable transit, and minimize the friction caused.

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The Swedish Transport Agency recently granted the Swedish auto giant permission to begin real-world testing of its self-driving cars, boosting the company’s chances of meeting its stated goal of bringing the technology to market by 2021.

The self-driving cars will be allowed on motorways and streets in the Gothenburg area. The cars will not be allowed to exceed 60 kilometres per hour when the self-driving features are activated and drivers are required to keep at least one hand on the wheel at all times. Operators of the autonomous vehicles must also undergo training provided by Volvo.

Earlier this month, the Swedish company unveiled the futuristic concept car Volvo 360c, a fully autonomous, electric vehicle with no steering wheel that has been described as “a bedroom on wheels”, by a recent article on Verge.

The company will explore how autonomous vehicles can be used to shuttle people between cities, allowing them more time for rest, work and play instead of the hassle of flying. Air travel routes of around 300 kilometers (186 miles) are “prime candidates for disruption,” the company said. Such routes actually become more time-consuming by air than by car once you factor in travelling to and from the airport, going through security and boarding procedures. So, it would make sense to travel in a self-driven car that allows you to enjoy work and play, with premium comfort so that you wake up refreshed at your destination.

“The business will change in the coming years and Volvo should lead that change of our industry,” company president and CEO Håkan Samuelsson said in a press release announcing the 360c. “Autonomous drive will allow us to take the big next step in safety but also open up exciting new business models and allow consumers to spend time in the car doing what they want to do.”

Volvo concludes that the 360c is a mere starter for a conversation about the doors that autonomous driving might open up in the future. The company intends to advance that conversation as technology and infrastructure continue to evolve.

While this is definitely a great conversation starter, we can’t be sure if autonomous cars can actually completely replace flights. Moreover, with the advent of hyperloop and flying cars, the competition is quite tough. What would you choose?

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Malaysia Airlines, together with Amadeus, has launched MHchat, a new feature which helps travellers book flights and pay through Facebook Messenger.

Jointly developed with Malaysia Airlines as its pilot customer, the Amadeus Chatbot for Airlines is a new solution designed to make it easier for travellers to book flights, retrieve bookings and ask questions through a social media messaging platform customers are already familiar with.

Image source: TTG Asia

On Facebook Messenger, Malaysia Airlines’ customers can use MHchat if they want to look up flights or ask a question related to a booking. The bot will search, locate and push offers or information using artificial intelligence.

Travellers can even complete a transaction, make a secure payment and receive the travel itinerary all within the same app.

The Amadeus Chatbot for Airlines can be customised for any airline, delivering customer satisfaction, more revenue opportunities as well as cost-savings around customer care, according to the launch partners.

Amadeus said it will continue to drive technology improvements and bolster the chatbot with new features including multi-language support, adding ancillary services to an existing booking, and integration with Amazon’s Alexa for voice capabilities.

Thanks to advancements in Big Data and Predictive analytics, Chatbots have been making big strides in travel. Just earlier this year, Sabre Corporation launched a pilot programme of an AI-powered chatbot that leverages Microsoft’s Bot Framework and Microsoft Cognitive Services, a set of tools that organisations can use to add intelligent and conversational features to their applications. Sabre is initially piloting the chatbot with the travel agency Travel Services International USA (TSI) and the travellers they serve.

In another case, Incheon International Airport added a talking robot that interacts with passengers, featuring a message programme that enables it to communicate information about the airport’s facilities to travellers.

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Alibaba AI Labs is all set to introduce a robot designed specifically for the hospitality sector, in October this year.

“Alibaba AI Labs’ robot is the next step in the evolution towards smart hotels,” said Chen Lijuan, general manager of Alibaba AI Labs, adding that the development will help “bridge the gap between guest needs and the response time they expect”.

From its deployment in October, the new robot will be able to deliver food or laundry to guests, offering a glimpse into the future of hotel service. Guests can talk to the robot, using voice commands, touch and hand gestures. Its answers are powered by AliGenie, the software behind the Tmall Genie smart speaker made by Alibaba AI Labs.

The robot, slightly under one metre in height, moves at a speed of up to one metre per second. It is cased in aluminium and features multi-sense data functionality, along with parallel computing, for fast responses.

Onboard are a semantic map, autonomous navigation system to identify and dodge obstacles, a communications system to control elevators and facial-recognition technology for ID verification.

The global market for service robots is on the rise. Citing the International Federation of Robotics, Alibaba says there the market is growing between 20 and 25 per cent from 2018 and 2020, with sales during that period totaling around US$27 billion for the professional service segment.

After a trial of the service robot at hotels, AI Labs will determine whether it’s suitable for use in hospitals, restaurants and offices.

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From Treebo’s Hero app to Sabre’s cutting-edge technology, and GoIbibo’s ‘Secret’, we have curated the best of this week’s travel-tech launches for you.

Treebo Hotels launches mobile app ‘Hero’ to tap traditional offline sales channels

Treebo Hotels announced the launch of a new mobile app called ‘Hero’ aimed at tapping into the traditional offline sales channels, thereby expanding its customer base and creating new avenues for sales. With the Hero app, Treebo aims to target intermediaries like auto-rickshaw and cab drivers, individual agents, small shopkeepers, and others who typically operate at airports, railway stations, and bus stands. These intermediaries often help customers arriving in the city with their travel bookings, since many of these customers do not make prior bookings.

By bringing this traditional offline activity into the formal online space through ‘Hero’, the brand targets to drive higher awareness about its quality services and amenities through the direct recommendation of these intermediaries. It will thus allow Treebo to tap into a new customer segment that has conventionally transacted with and trusted these offline intermediaries only.

Commenting on the launch, Sidharth Gupta, Co-founder of Treebo Hotels said, “As a hotel chain we have always used both online and offline channels to drive sales for us, and we have deployed technology to drive convergence between them. With the launch of Hero we are tapping into another potent sales channel – the local offline intermediaries. We are not only excited about welcoming a new set of travellers who book through such intermediaries but also about creating opportunities for such micro entrepreneurs to enhance their incomes and become part of the digital economy.”

Goibibo launches ‘Secret Hotels’ feature for last-minute hotel deals

Goibibo unveiled a new feature on its platform – “Secret Hotels”, which will help customers who are looking for hotels at the last minute and have a set budget. The ‘Secret Hotels’ feature requires the customer to provide basic intents such as location, check-in date and basket of standardised amenities. Basis the options filled in by the customer, hotels are selected by an automated Goibibo algorithm that picks the best property suited for customer’s needs at their chosen price.

Image source: Inc42

Commenting on the launch of Secret Hotels, Sanjay Bhasin, COO, Goibibo, said, “We want to consistently provide more choice and add to flexibility of booking hotels for our customers on Goibibo. With ‘Secret Hotels’, we aim to get our users a hassle-free hotel booking experience at special prices, even as they make last minute bookings.”

Sabre launches industry-first pricing technology to deliver end-to-end dynamic pricing strategy

At the Aviation Festival in London, Sabre Corporation launched Sabre AirVision Dynamic Availability and Sabre AirVision Fares Optimizer, two next-generation pricing solutions that uncover new revenue opportunities by enabling airlines to proactively address rapidly changing market conditions in real time. Underscoring the launch announcement, Etihad Airways and Aegean Airlines will be the first Sabre customers to implement the solutions.

“Pricing is one of the most complex issues in the aviation industry, and airlines are under immense pressure to adapt prices in line with constantly changing market conditions,” said Dave Shirk, President of Travel Solutions, Sabre. “Success requires pricing and revenue management technology that will not only push boundaries, but truly equip airlines for the next frontier. As part of our commitment to enable the digital airline of the future, our dynamic pricing solutions give airlines the intelligence needed to compete and grow revenue today and well into the future. This type of innovation can only come from close collaboration with leading airlines who help imagine the future alongside Sabre.”

Sabre AirVision Fares Optimizer empowers airlines to strategically adjust their fares based on real-time market data. It recommends pricing structures based on customer segmentation and competitor price checks, and generates fare recommendations by estimating each customer’s potential willingness to pay. Then, for more tactical adjustments, Sabre AirVision Dynamic Availability – a proven big data solution – enables airlines to quickly respond to ever evolving market dynamics. These two solutions, coupled with Sabre’s shopping data and Revenue Optimizer technology, empower airlines with a complete pricing and revenue management offering.

The new solutions are part of a broader strategic decision by Sabre, which announced earlier this year that it would build a new Digital Commercial Platform that delivers end-to-end personalized retailing for airlines.

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Amadeus India, a GDS (Global Distribution System) and travel software and technology solutions provider, with more than 50% market share in the country, is working towards improving its business from the hotel segment by providing improvised end-to-end services in terms of hotel bookings and distribution. The company plans to add more products from the aggregators and offer convenient options for bookings on its own platform.

Rakesh Bansal, CEO, Amadeus India, stated in an interview that the company, which earns more than 90% of its business from airline ticket bookings, is now focusing on improving its other business models such as hotel bookings and distribution and has undertaken large investments in ancillary travel services like booking seat, meal and baggage in last two years.

As far as latest initiatives in terms of business expansion go, Bansal said that the company has come up with ACUS (Airport Common Use Service), a solution provider product for airports, and for the same Amadeus is in talks with few airports listed under UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik) scheme. The company also plans to increase the number of airlines onboard Amadeus India platform from 79 to 100 by the year-end.

Throwing light on Amadeus India’s newly launched products in the market, Bansal said that among all the latest products launched in the last two years, Amadeus Auto Ticket has seen a high-adaption rate among partners as it allows automated ticketing for IATA agents, providing them a convenient option to book, cancel and re-book airline tickets with lesser time taken as compared to any other GDS platform. According to him, big players like Thomas Cook, who regularly handle corporate travel bookings, find this tool quite effective.

Another product that is gaining good market share is Amadeus Quality Monitor which favours consumers, allowing them to demand a particular service and forcing the travel counselor to deliver it without altering the quality.

The company has also developed software for front office solution named as Amadeus selling platform connect (SECO) which is a professional booking and fulfillment platform that trains the travel agents with a set of core features which are needed to perform key booking tasks. Bansal said that SECO is tailored to specific needs for air, hotels, cars, insurance and rail and anyone can access the software any time and from any machine with latest internet browsers.

Amadeus India is also looking to tap the LCCs (Low-Cost Carriers) by providing LCC solutions through Navitaire, its recently acquired company which specializes in providing technology and business solutions to low-cost and hybrid carriers.

In terms of marketing and promotions, Bansal said that the company enjoys the network of 10,000 travel agencies and has close relationships with airlines which help in word of mouth publicity. Alongside, in every six months’ Amadeus organizes product roadshows and refresh courses for updating its partners on updates in the features and products. For the second half of 2018, the company has planned a series of roadshows across the country starting from Kolkata in late August, followed by Delhi, Mumbai and Pune in September and October.

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Goibibo has launched a new WhatsApp integrated solution, allowing its users to sign-in to Goibibo on mobile web via WhatsApp. This first-of-its-kind Whatsapp login authentication will help mobile web users to Log In without needing to remember password, keying in OTP or Mobile Number – rendering a convenient, seamless experience.

Anshuman Bapna, Chief Product Officer, Goibibo said, “We are a mobile-first company and we want to leverage the mobile ecosystem to its fullest to make online travel booking experience even more convenient. Given the ubiquitous usage of Whatsapp among Indians, it was a natural choice for us to build this feature to help people access the platform without the fuss of remembering complex passwords and punching in OTPs.”

This new feature will help Goibibo further enhance qualitative services for its consumers who have come to expect ease and superior user experience. Goibibo currently offers features like seat and meal selection, auto check-in and hotel reviews and images collection through WhatsApp built-in Android APIs.

Indian startups are now increasingly using social messaging app WhatsApp to do business, riding on its huge user base. WhatsApp has nearly 200 million active users in India, as of February 2017, accounting for 16% of its global user base, according to Statista, an online research portal.

The WhatsApp flight seat selection feature introduced by Goibibo in January this year was for flight booking and seat selection and gave travellers the ability to choose their desired flight seat just on Whatsapp.

In a separate development, WhatsApp announced that it is launching its first revenue generating product in India for enterprises to interact directly with customers which will debut with Goibibo’s parent company MakeMyTrip.

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