Technology continues to innovate how travellers are preparing for and enjoying their journeys, or how hotels are adapting to their guests’ changing preferences. So far, there has been much hype around travel disruptors such as Airbnb and Uber. However, the continual foray of tech giants into the travel space is what should be grabbing our attention right now.

Competition is actually coming in now from big technology players. The huge growth potential in the online travel space, particularly in Asia-Pacific, is attracting their attention.

Take the case of Google and Alibaba, who are already very much in the travel space. Combine the search engine giant’s complex algorithm with its products like Google Flights, Google Hotel Finder and Google Trips, and you will see how the company is slowly and steadily climbing up the trip-planning funnel. In the $2.3 trillion contributed to the global economy by travel and tourism, Google already has a large share of the pie. The company has been developing travel tools in the last four years, and is even starting to make them official. For instance, Google Flights came out way back in 2011, but they re-designed and launched the tool only in 2015, replete with exciting new features. The company has now made it easier for users to check out important hotel details such as rates, locations and reviews. Google users can also book some hotels directly while searching for particular properties. Moreover, when a user types in a query for a particular destination, Google also displays a list at the top of the page that provides travellers information about popular sightseeing locations.

Image source: Gravity Flow

Alibaba’s Fliggy is not far behind. The company recently announced a joint venture partnership with Marriott International to redefine the travel experience for the hundreds of millions of Chinese consumers traveling abroad and domestically every year. The joint venture will leverage Marriott International’s global portfolio of brands and unparalleled hospitality expertise to revolutionize the travel experience as well as Alibaba’s digital retail leadership and its role as a gateway for international brands to reach over 500 million mobile monthly active users across its platforms. Drawing on resources from both Marriott and Alibaba, the joint venture will manage Marriott’s storefront on Fliggy, Alibaba’s travel service platform. It will also market directly to Alibaba’s customer base, provide a link between Marriott’s loyalty programs and Alibaba’s loyalty program, and support Marriott hotels globally with content, programs and promotions customized for the Chinese traveller.

We can also see non-traditional travel actors in payments space or general online retailing, like the Amazons of the world, developing the travel component. Closer home, Paytm is an example. On the back of raising $1.4 billion from SoftBank, Paytm is making aggressive moves to challenge existing players in verticals like travel and hotels with the help of deep discounts.

And we will keep seeing many others in the space, too. Travel is a very interesting space for many of them as it is accessible for anyone who has online retailing experience. There is definitely a good basis to build a travel marketplace then. Moreover, considering that companies like Apple and Google already own 90 per cent of the mobile ecosystem, it allows these tech giants to easily capture travel data and get insights on what they’re looking for. Plus, the tech companies are heavily leveraging machine learning and artificial intelligence to draw insights from that data in real time to create optimized results.

Calling attention to the areas that are broken in the current systems is precisely what tech companies are now doing. This, however, does not spell doom for the traditional players. In fact, with tech giants attacking weaknesses, it gives the industry an opportunity to wake up and think about change, thus making them more open to the adoption of new technology. And that is always going to be a win-win for everyone.

The post How non-travel players are foraying into the travel space appeared first on TravHQ.

Technology has continuously been transforming the travel industry, but one constant remains – the hotel front desk. Step into any hotel, of any range, and you will end up finding the typical counter with people smiling and greeting you.

There are exceptions to this of course – the hotels who have bid farewell to the faithful infrastructure in exchange for handheld or fixed devices and kiosks. We are in an era where travellers cannot have a seamless experience with the hotel without the aid of technology. With technology evolving and guests gaining access to several social media platforms, it has become imperative for hotels to have a positive online presence, a brand recognition and provide a smooth stay experience. IoT is termed as a defining force in travel and IoT solutions are offering interesting set of possibilities for hotels by offering better data about the guests. From enabling front desk to serve customers quickly to skipping it altogether, the solution allows hoteliers to add the technologies as extensions to their existing app. Many consumers want to interact with hotels flexibly, whether by texting to request an early check-in or by unlocking their guest room with keyless entry powered by a mobile app. Moreover, there is an age-old desire to cut labor costs through automation.

However, at most places, the front desk has defied most of these technological trends and persisted. How did that happen?

There has been a growing skepticism for technology that has many implications for travel. In the past couple of months, social media platforms have been facing intense backlash from consumers, media, and regulators for having abused their trust. By treating a traveller this way – ‘using’ them only for data and attributes – hoteliers stand to face a similar backlash for exploiting customers for the purpose of upselling. The front desk is one place where this can be taken care of.

People don’t want to be treated like gadgets anymore. When travellers show up at a hotel after a long flight, the last thing they would want is to interact with another piece of technology. This goes especially true for business travellers, for whom travel can be a particularly dehumanizing experience. Chances are that the only human interaction they have all day is the front desk colleague who warmly welcomes them. Isn’t that the point of staying at a great hotel – to be taken care of?

A front desk is like the heart of a hotel. The travel industry needs to rethink its pursuit of digital services as only a proxy to human experience, and not simply replace it. A vast majority of today’s travellers still reject fully automated check-in. Case in point, long queues at airport counters. People don’t usually walk up to kiosks unless escorted by a human.

This is not to say that we should not pursue automation and all things digital. Many guests already do prefer it. However, let’s wait for a point at which time more guests will prefer to check-in via mobile than in person, before completely giving up on the front desk. In fact, rather than replacing the front desk completely, it should be re-invented as a tool to build brand image, especially online. When people check out reviews at TripAdvisor, it is easy to see that what people review is service by humans. If hotels completely eliminate the front desk experience, all hotel brands will eventually become a commodity, and then, why would we need a brand at all?

The post Should hotels get rid of the front desk? appeared first on TravHQ.

Have you been feeling the heat of competition? Is your travel and tour website losing critical leads? Are you looking for ways to position your travel agency on social media? Or are you looking at ways to make your website design more effective?

If the answer to one or all of the above is a resounding yes, then you might want to be part of two exciting workshops that we are bringing to you at this year’s Travel Technology Track at OTM, Mumbai.

The first workshop on ‘Design Hacks for Travel Companies’, will be led by Kaushal Karkhanis, creative strategist and travel blogger with two decades of experience in the designs solutions space. The session will primarily focus on understanding why design is good for your travel business, how travel websites can sell better with great designs, the importance of photos and videos to make the jump from interest to action and the plethora of design tools you can leverage to enhance your brand’s perception.

The second workshop on ‘Leveraging Social Media for Travel-Trade/MICE Industry’ will be led by Daksh Sharma, Managing Director at TravHQ Media and Iffort. This session will revolve around decoding content marketing strategies to promote destinations, importance of engaging with travel influencers, using travel-tech and promoting and positioning your travel agency on social media platforms.

This year, Travel Technology Track will also feature a host of panel discussions by industry speakers, along with an Innovator Showcase by leading innovators in the Indian travel space.

The post Workshops on Design and Social-media Hacks for your travel company, courtesy Travel Technology Track by OTM & TravHQ appeared first on TravHQ.

Checking off must-see lists and referring to guidebooks in every destination is passe. The current crop of travellers is nothing like its previous generation, thriving on unique, local experiences, rather than pre-planned itineraries. Latching on to this insight, Airbnb recently came up with its #LiveThere campaign, urging travellers to actually live like a local when they visit their dream destination.

Coupled with the company’s recent Trips launch in the country, the Airbnb campaign helps travellers immerse themselves in communities through the eyes of locals, by showcasing authentic, curated experiences made possible through Airbnb and its people-powered community. Watch the ad here:

While the video is focused on the city of Paris, the voiceover resonates with every traveller across the world who is dissatisfied with standardized tourist offerings. It creates a more authentic guest-host relationship by urging people to break away from the regular travel experiences and seek new destinations in the homes of local residents, and through their eyes. In order to stick out, Airbnb is trying to appeal to nostalgia and the thrill of adventure. The core of the engagement is authentic to the brand and the campaign aims to create meaningful, honest experiences. It also aims to increase the daily relevance of the product in people’s lives. Right now, people only go to Airbnb when they look for places to stay in during a vacation. The brand is striving to become a daily app where people go to find experiences; making both hosts and guests long-term partners.

Airbnb in India has witnessed tremendous growth in the past one decade of its existence. Currently, 22,000 properties are listed on Airbnb’s India platform across 100 cities. According to the company, transactions on the platform in India has nearly tripled over the past year, with nearly five lakh Indian guests having travelled via Airbnb. All these numbers point to Airbnb’s crucial role in the Indian travel market, touted to grow to $40 billion by 2020. Previously too, Airbnb has tried to offer accommodation in new regions of India that are attracting travellers by signing an MoU with Self-Employed Women’s Association of India (SEWA), where the company worked with the members of SEWA to help them share their homes and host domestic and international guests.

To boost its campaign reach in India, Airbnb partnered with Viacom 18’s entertainment channel MTV India to host the online #LiveThere contest. The contest required participants to log onto their Instagram or Twitter and submit image/video entries which best capture their ‘Live There’ moments. By collaborating with popular icons like Nikhil Chinappa, Anusha Dandekar and Radhika Apte, Airbnb aimed at establishing greater relevance with the young Indian traveller, based on their unique passion points. So, while trained Scuba instructor Nikhil Chinappa shared insights on how to best experience music and adventure in Thailand, Anusha Dandekar offered an insider’s view into the hidden fashion hubs in Milan, and Radhika Apte suggested the best way to experience art and theatre in London.

Overall, the new campaign throws out the notion that people want template experiences when they travel. By inspiring travellers to reimagine what it is to travel, including living in local neighbourhoods and enjoying the comforts of a home, the Airbnb campaign provides the perfect antidote to commoditized travel.

The post Travel marketing lessons from Airbnb’s #LiveThere campaign appeared first on TravHQ.

Waymo, the autonomous car development company, recently made history by launching cars on public roads without any safety drivers behind the wheel. The tests aren’t limited to one or two routes, and the cars are able to go anywhere within a defined space, in this case, the space being Chandler in Arizona.

Driverless cars have the potential to completely transform the way we travel. In his most recent TED talk, even Elon Musk, co-founder of Tesla, said that “by the end of this year, an autonomous car will be able to leave a parking space in Los Angeles, navigate all the way across America, and park in a space in New York.” With this shift, there will also arrive a plethora of benefits; from reduced travel costs, to increased road safety and more efficient trips.

We all have, at some point of time in our lives, faced the nightmare of holiday traffic. Long weekends and holidays like Christmas and New Year’s are considered to be some of the most popular and busiest travel days of the year, with many travellers driving to their destinations by car. The advent of self-driving cars could reduce, if not fully eliminate, all this holiday traffic. Self-driving vehicles will be able to travel quickly, instead of being stuck in traffic on congested highways. They will be able to drive closer to the cars in front of them, at faster speeds, and navigate narrow lanes than are generally prone to human error.

Image source: EnergyKids

Self-driving cars may even help travellers plan ahead for increased efficiency. Once the vehicle knows the destination, it could suggest an alternate route based on the expected number of vehicles on the usual route. The car could then also recommend that travellers leave a day earlier or late, or even at two in the morning, to avoid getting stuck.

Autonomous cars could be a game-changer for the airline and rail industry as well. With increased efficiency and reduced costs, people may choose to travel by car than planes or trains. This, in turn, could drastically cut down flying costs, as the airline industry tries to keep up with the advent of this new technology and changing passenger demands. Additionally, self-driving cars allow for point-to-point transportation, which means no more wasted time travelling to a bus or train station or the airport.

Self-driving cars are all set to alter the landscape of mobility and revolutionize the automotive industry, public transport and swathes of the global population. While there is still a lot that needs to be sorted in terms of acceptance and readying our infrastructure for such cars, the excitement in the air is tangible with a faster and more efficient future of travel on the way.

The post Are driverless cars the future of holiday travel? appeared first on TravHQ.

‘What is the flying time between New Delhi and New York?’ ‘Top summer destinations in Asia.’ ‘Best boutique hotel in Paris.’

You name it, and Google has it. Combine the search engine giant’s complex algorithm with its products like Google Flights, Google Hotel Finder and Google Trips, and you will see how the company is slowly and steadily climbing up the trip-planning funnel.

In the $2.3 trillion contributed to the global economy by travel and tourism, Google already has a large share of the pie. The company has been developing travel tools in the last four years, and is even starting to make them official. For instance, Google Flights came out way back in 2011, but they re-designed and launched the tool only in 2015, replete with exciting new features. The company has now made it easier for users to check out important hotel details such as rates, locations and reviews. Google users can also book some hotels directly while searching for particular properties. Moreover, when a user types in a query for a particular destination, Google also displays a list at the top of the page that provides travellers information about popular sightseeing locations.

This has undoubtedly fueled debate about the company’s potential ambition to become an online travel agency and replace the likes of Expedia and Airbnb. However, is that really the case?

Take for instance the amount they receive in ad revenue from the major OTAs. Its existing travel-advertising business, including the paid links on its search-result pages, probably fetches the company more revenue than most OTAs combined. Moreover, it gives Google a much higher profit margin.

Google recently declared itself as an AI-first company. This means that the company sees itself only as the connecting bridge that helps consumers find the best possible matches when they’re planning a trip. Google Flights, for instance, uses AI to deliver features that help with planning trips. With the integration of AI directly into travel search, it remembers the context of a query, and that helps users further refine requests easily. As Google rolls out its next set of voice-based platforms, searching and booking will also become mobile-centric, thus increasing last-minute bookings. For hotels, this means that offering a great mobile user experience will become paramount.

The Trips app also serves as a goldmine for hotel marketers as Google Trips offers a wealth of local information including activities, tours, restaurants and transport options. This can help them boost overall visibility, including making sure that their Google Business Listing is up to date. Since the app relies on user reviews, getting positive guest feedback will be important. Being registered in local listings, combined with a mobile-friendly website will place a travel business on Google Trips radar, thus ultimately benefiting the business in the process.

Google’s plans to involve itself with the travel industry will only reinforce the need to enforce diversified marketing strategies, engage with customer feedback and provide better services. The travel industry is evolving rapidly and for organizations to stay relevant in today’s competitive market, they will have to take into account all changes. Google will act as the friend and guide that will help them navigate all challenges.

The post Is Google slowly reshaping the travel industry? appeared first on TravHQ.

The travel industry must be better prepared for economic and political disruption if it is to make the most of future economic growth, a new report from A.T. Kearney outlines.

Whilst the sharing economy, virtual reality and the Internet of Things are all improving the traveller experience, international geo-political, social and economic developments are disrupting and polarising the world as we know it, limiting the industry’s potential for future prosperity unless companies act now the report says.

Against this backdrop, A.T. Kearney highlights two key trends that are changing the travel industry landscape, and driving future success:

• Personalised travel experiences versus mass market. Technology enables the aggregation of consumer data and the use of Artificial Intelligence to learn about traveller behaviour. In addition, it may help to meet individual needs, instead of a more traditional one-sizefits-all approach.
• Seamless travel versus fragmentation. Truly seamless travel will require governmental cooperation and data sharing between businesses: from airports and airlines to destination services such as hotels, restaurants, and ground transportation.

Based on these two key trends, Amadeus and A.T. Kearney have identified four future-looking world scenarios that travel companies needs to prepare for today, if they are to maximise future growth and success tomorrow:

The Picasso scenario is built on a fragmented world marked by the rise of populism and by heightened security concerns. This has the effect of making more travel destinations off-limits. Even so, most parts of the world enjoy economic growth. Companies invest in innovation to reach more customers through mobile channels, and this interaction enables businesses to provide more sophisticated personalized offers.

The Dali scenario assumes that both social attitudes and economic prosperity create a more favourable environment towards sharing data. This brings about more relaxed privacy laws and lighter regulation, which allows for greater personalisation of travel. Living in the Dali scenario, travel becomes faster, cheaper, and safer. People benefit from less security controls at borders and have real-time information about unexpected events such as flight delays.

In the Bosch scenario, business costs rise across the industry as companies struggle to comply with a mosaic of different legal, tax, labour and data protection laws. We are confronting a fragmented world based on protectionism and distrust. Facing Bosch’s political environment, travellers seek comfort in trusted brands and book directly with well-known travel providers.

The Warhol scenario is characterised by seamless and not personalised travel that considers the implications of strong economic growth in Asia, giving rise to a large middle class with more disposable income for travel and leisure. Travellers would rather go for low cost, mass-market travel instead of having personalised options even in a world free of barriers.

“Technology has never held more promise for the travel industry”, says Alex Luzarraga, Vice President Corporate Strategy of Amadeus IT Group. “But the status quo is being turned on its head. There is widespread mistrust and populism. Things we used to take for granted, such as the right to travel across Europe without passports, for example, may be less likely in the future. It is important to evaluate and understand, in partnership with A.T. Kearney, those issues that will continue to confront and disrupt the industry in the coming five to seven years, so we can as an industry be better prepared to deal with those issues, and also stimulate economic growth and success as a result”.

“The report is based on the perspectives of a broad range of stakeholders from across the travel and technology worlds. It illustrates a broad view of the future, which allows companies to uncover their organisational blind spots. Moreover, the study tests existing plans against industry outlooks, and helps us understand ‘no regret’ moves and imperatives in company strategy. This paper will provide an interesting perspective to the businesses that wish to prosper in the travel industry in the coming years”, says Yelena Ageyeva-Furman, Principal, London, at A.T. Kearney.

Commissioned by Amadeus, the study was based on a series of industry workshops and interviews from across the technology and travel industries. To learn more about the research and to download the What if? Imagining the future of the travel industry report, please click here.

The post A.T. Kearney report outlines future scenarios for travel industry appeared first on TravHQ.

The news coming from all over the world keeps on getting interesting. The highlight of this month was the first ever Phocuswright event in India and now their team is gearing up for the next event in Europe. In other news, Facebook introduced some new interesting tools that travel brands can leverage and the fight between cab aggregators and regulators over surge pricing continues in India. In case you missed them over the month, here are the top stories from the month of April:

1- QuadLabs Technologies won the first APAC Travel Innovator of the Year at Phocuswright India

QuadLabs Technologies won at the highly acclaimed Travel Innovation Summit at Phocuswright India for their new travel management platform Travog. Self-drive car rental company Myles was the runner up. Audio Compass won the People’s Choice and Amadeus Next award.

Full story

2- Android Auto arrived in India

Google earlier introduced its in-car infotainment system called Android Auto and recently introduced it in 18 new countries including India. It can simplify a large number of in-car controls by bringing familiar Android interface to your car and using the data from your device. Travel brands can explore the possibilities and make the best out of Android Auto.

Full story

3- Here is what Facebook F8 had for travel brands

During the recently concluded Facebook F8 Developer conference, Facebook had a lot to offer. At this year’s event, they announced APIs for live video, Instant Articles for everyone, chat bots for Messenger and an open source project for VR videos.

Full story

4- Regulators vs cab companies again on surge pricing

After being in news for fighting against each other, the cab companies are now in the crosshair of various state governments. Indian state of Karnataka announced a ban on surge pricing and Delhi followed. Uber started campaigning against the same with personalised mails being sent to users.

Full story

5- YouTube made live videos more interesting

Live videos were kicked off by Periscope but now YouTube and Facebook seem to be the favourite platform for live. Now with 360 degree cameras getting affordable, YouTube has gone a step further and introduced 360 degree live videos. This will not only add a new format but also attract more young tech savvy users to the platform.

Full story

6- LeEco showcases electric driverless car

LeEco, a relatively less known mobile manufacturer from China and an investor in Faraday Future, has showcased an electric car that is autonomous. Until now, most of the developments in autonomous car technologies were coming from the west but this Chinese company seems to have aimed directly at Tesla.

Full story

7- Highlights from the keynote of Lee McCabe at Phocuswright India

Lee McCabe, Global Head of Travel, Facebook talked about how media consumption is changing and what businesses need to keep in mind to cater to mobile first customers. He shared interesting insights on how mobile is affecting travel industry and where brands are lagging behind.

Full story

8- Airbnb announced ‘Live There’ campaign along with new features

Airbnb recently announced its largest brand campaign called ‘Live There’ to inspire travellers to experience the hospitality of local hosts. Along with the new campaign, they introduced new features including Bespoke Matching for finding suitable rentals, neighbourhood matching and guidebooks.

Full story

9- Raghav Gupta, India Country Manager, BlaBlaCar talks about future of ridesharing in India

Carsharing has recently started to pick up in India as vehicle ownership costs continue to grow and public transport continues to lag. BlaBlaCar, the world’s largest long distance ridesharing company started operations in India only a while back and has been received well by travellers. We speak with Raghav Gupta to know more.

Full story

10- Yogendra Vasupal shares how Stayzilla is driving the trend of homestays in India

Alternative accommodation is a relatively new concept in India and people have started opening up to the idea only recently. Stayzilla is one brand that is heavily investing its efforts to drive this change. Yogendra Vasupal, CEO, Stayzilla shared more details about how it is being done.

Full story

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Founded in 2003 in London, Technavio is one of the leading technology research and advisory firms with intercontinental audience. It has 200 analysts around the world who closely observe the ever-changing market conditions on a day to day basis. Simultaneously, Technavio interacts with the chief players of different industries to be a step ahead of its competitors.

Recently the firm has brought out a periodical research report on ‘Retail Travel Services’. Here are some interesting facts that have come to the spotlight:

1. Offline bookings dominate the Indian market while the online travel services market grows exponentially

There are six types of services that are prevalent in the Indian market. They are domestic flight booking, hotel accommodation, rail ticket booking, domestic bus ticket booking, rental cab booking and holiday packages. As one would expect, all bookings happen through an offline medium or online medium.

Currently, online bookings in the Indian travel services market account for 46% share. However, the online market is growing at an exponential rate in India. It was valued at $7.66 billion last year, and is expected to reach $22.37 billion in the next 4 years (by 2019) with an estimate CAGR of 23.9%.

2. Online portals shift from being a standalone entity to a one-stop-shop for catering to the travel needs of clients

Many online travel agencies are associating themselves with brands like IRCTC, the online booking arm of Indian Railways. They have partnered with bus ticketing websites and car rental companies to offer single-stop results for customers.

The top 5 players in this sector are: Cox and Kings, MakeMyTrip, SOTC, Thomas Cook and Yatra. Other prominent vendors are: Busindia, Cleartrip, Akbar Travels, Expedia, Easy Cabs, Ola and Uber. With the help of these services the travellers can indirectly book hotels, flights, cabs, trains and holiday packages.

3. The Indian travel services market size in the past and near future

The Indian travel services market was valued at $16.9 billion in 2014. It is expected to reach $33.84 billion by 2019 growing at a CAGR of 14.9%. The rising inflation will not adversely affect the Indian market as many other factors like an increase in disposable incomes by individuals and expected rise in brand-to-brand mergers will take place. This will accelerate the Indian travel services market growth.

4. The merits of the present Indian travel services market

The first key market driver for the growth of Indian travel services can be the increase in online ticket booking. With the increase in internet penetration across India, online bookings through computers, tablets and mobile phones have become more common than ever. Today there are more job holders with higher disposable incomes. They are willing to travel around the world to enjoy unique travel experiences. It’s been observed that youngsters travel – domestic and international – more than ever nowadays.

Additionally, many travel firms offer incentives in the form of discounts and gift vouchers for customers who use their mobile apps for booking. Technavio expects this interest in m-commerce to grow over the forecast period. In 2014, the total number of online users through mobile was 120 million, higher in comparison to desktop online users. Currently, 60% of the orders are generated through mobile internet & the number is expected to reach 70% by the end of this year.

5. The challenges that are faced by the Indian travel services market

A few challenges this sector faces are:

• High tax rates: High tax rates translate to more expenses for the travellers. This is viewed by the masses as a potential roadblock.
• Lack of trust in online payment modes: Despite rapid advancements, there are many customers who are still hesitant to carry out online payments and transactions. They are more likely to adopt the offline mode. This does affect the market to a certain extent.
• Strict Monetary Policies: The report states that strict monetary policies followed by Reserve Bank of India (RBI), retail policy-related concerns and the growing uncertainty in the global economy have hampered industrial growth in the country in the past few years. To this day, this issue persists.

To learn more about the report, you can visit Techanvio’s website.

The post 5 Key Takeaways from Technavio’s Market Research Report on Retail Travel Services in India appeared first on TravHQ.

We have just come back from two exciting days of learning new things and meeting interesting people at the eTailing and Travel Commerce Conference. Renowned industry leaders shared their experiences of building their businesses, experts from different domains discussed the hottest trends and some new innovative startups also came into light. It surely was a great event for all travel marketers and industry analysts to discuss key challenges our industry faces.

Here is an overview of the major points that emerged:

1. Experiential tours and P2P services will grow

According to Dr. Suman Billa, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Tourism, we will see a strong growth in the number of people looking for bespoke tours. Technology will help fuel the growth and give more opportunities to smaller players. P2P services like Airbnb are expected to grow as well.

Businesses catering to defined niche like student travellers or solo female travellers will have a lot of scope in the future. A representative of a major OTA emphasised that brands like them won’t consider offering services for a specific group. It isn’t possible at their scale and the segment can be better served by small businesses specifically doing the same, so that is a space new players can explore.

Dr. Suman Billa, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Tourism addressing the audience

2. Weak players will fade away

Mr. G. Shankaran Nair, President and Chief Strategy Officer, Servion Global Solutions said that the model on which ecommerce companies are operating isn’t a sustainable one. Price is the only differentiating factor between many of them. Competing in a rapidly evolving market only on the basis of price won’t work for long and will lead to a shakedown wiping out the weak players from the market.

3. Selling packages isn’t the best idea

Of course it will be a different story for a businesses like TravelTriangle or WeAreHolidays that specialise in selling packages but the major OTAs aren’t keen to do the same. According to them, it is better to simplify the booking process and let the customer take care of things. Screen sizes and attention spans are going down and it might not be a very good idea to present a complicated itinerary.

4. Scalable technology is necessary for global expansion

Expedia is present across a dozen of countries and according to Mr. Madhur Arora, Head of e-Commerce Business, India and Thailand, Expedia manages to serve all the countries from one location. Having a scalable product allows the brand to quickly start operating in new market rather than having to start fresh.

5. ROI on Social Media is a tough nut to crack

During a discussion about how social media drives digital conversations in the hospitality industry, Mr. Hari Nair, Founder & CEO, HolidayIQ suggested that it is best to use social media to inspire people to travel. The inspiration might not have an immediate impact but it will eventually turn into a conversion for the brand. Brands aren’t able to see any significant return on their social media efforts because there is a huge gap between the time a brand takes to inspire a traveller and the time when he or she actually books with them. It is possible that a booking is coming through social media but the credit is going to another channel.

The eTailing and Travel Commerce Conference was surely a great experience for us. Did you attend the event? We would love to hear your feedback.

Update: You can see pictures from the event on TravHQ Facebook page

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