“Flight fares starting at 999” and there goes the next hour looking for the routes and dates for when fares are cheap. Of course it makes perfect sense for low cost carriers to lure potential customers this way, mostly first time air travellers. However, these deals and promotions are good only for the spontaneous plans, which is rarely the case for most people. On most occasions, you will be searching for your options on multiple booking sites and filtering through them to book at the best prices and that is exactly where metasearch platforms enter the picture. With the growth of online travel market and the ever increasing number of online travel providers, metasearch platforms hold more relevance than ever in the Indian market.

Ashwin Jayasankar, General Manager, Wego India

To discuss about the metasearch market in India and many other developments in this space, we had a chat with Ashwin Jayasankar, General Manager of Wego India. Here is an edited excerpt from the conversation:

How has the market for metasearch services evolved in India?

The challenge for metasearch services is mainly when they first enter a market like India. The first time users from a new market experience the product, they have to get acquainted to the aggregator model. Beyond that, it is smooth sailing for the customer. Travellers are always looking to discover the best deals and browse through the available options and once they realise that metasearch services are offering them both, there is no reason for them to not come back.

We have been in the Indian market for around four years now and we have observed that the mobile route has really worked for us. Mobile serves as the right channel for relatively younger and tech savvy customers. The Wego mobile app is one of our strongest products. That coupled with the fact that most of the mobile customers are open to new technologies and it works very well for us.

How is the Indian market different for you from your other markets?

The Indian market is very price sensitive and as the competition is high, the customers have lot of options to choose from. We observed that our partners here are fast paced and very competitive compared to some developed countries and we have adapted to that pace. As an example, the deals and discounts come very frequently and Wego has to be actively involved with these partners. The advantages of having a dedicated team in India come into play here.

Another major difference is the number of strong domestic OTAs we have here. Whether they are old players or relatively newer players, the number of booking options for customers is much higher than any other market. This results in high competition which is generally good for the user. They are fighting with each other which drives down the prices. You can argue about the advantages and disadvantages of discounting from a business point of view but at the end of the day, a customer is happy. In my mind, India is an ideal market for metasearch, not just for travel but for any metasearch player. Being a price sensitive market, even a hundred rupee difference can affect the consumer decision and metasearch allows customers to account for that to find the best deals.

Do brands see lack of loyalty as a challenge while working with metasearch services?

Speaking from my experience of working with various brands including OTAs, hotels and airlines, I don’t think they see us as a competitor or any sort of threat. In fact, the lack of loyalty is caused by other brands competing with them not the metasearch players. They view us as important partners that bring customers that are more likely to convert. Compared to their other channels, metasearch platforms send them customers who have already provided the details of their travel. In most cases, these customers are ready to book and not just casually browsing.

Another advantage of working with meta players for them is the reach to new pool of customers. Wego operates across multiple geographies and caters to over 50 countries. The local brands, even the big ones like MakeMyTrip or Goibibo could be popular in certain geographies but with metasearch services, they get access to customers from new markets, the ones where metasearch players operate.

On any metasearch website, the user experience changes from the search page to the booking page as they are redirected to the provider’s website. Do you think that inconsistent experience is a challenge for mobile users?

Actually for us it isn’t turning out to be a major challenge. We are observing an increase in clicks and conversions for mobile users when compared to few months back. Typically in most industries, you will see that the views and clicks will be higher on mobile but conversions will be lower when compared to desktop. This could change in near future but at this point, people prefer the comfort of larger screen to some extent.

However, to ensure that the conversion rates are high, we have to take extreme care that the user is transferred to mobile friendly pages of the partner. When mobile was a relatively fresh platform, some of our partners were missing mobile websites. Customers would end up on a website that isn’t mobile friendly and would eventually leave. So the technical integration part is very important to avoid this situation. At times we also have to filter out some partners from mobile searches if they don’t have a proper mobile website. We might lose some money by not selling their inventory on mobile but we have to make sure the customer experience is smooth.

While we are at the topic of mobile, the mobile app also helps in this direction to a large extent. There are many regions where the users prefer their native language over English so we have made the app available in multiple languages. We saw a significant increase in usage from regions like Saudi Arabia soon after we made the platform available in Arabic.

What is your opinion on TripAdvisor Instant booking?

It is quite an interesting feature but there are both sides to the argument. There will be partners who are willing to be a part and there will be certain partners who won’t be happy with it. But you also have to think about it from the customer’s point of view. We were just discussing about the user experience on mobile. This will provide a smooth experience to the customers. Users will have a single interface throughout and will be more comfortable with the process. I don’t really have a strong view in favour or against it and it is a bit debatable at this point.

With Google constantly working on travel related searches, do you see it turning into a competitor in future?

I don’t see Google turning into a competitor. They have been experimenting with flights and hotels in Google searches for a while now but I don’t see that becoming a strong product. Google is a huge brand with much wider focus and multiple products. With such a wide array of products and services, it is not possible for them to concentrate on positioning themselves as travel experts. So branding is certainly one challenge for them. When you think of Google, you will not think of travel.

Along with that, the metasearch players, the established ones, have built their products around customer requirement, have got strong network of partners, returning customers and a better understanding of the travel market. It would be very tough for Google to compete with a dedicated company strongly focused only on travel. Only time will tell how they plan to take it further but we are certain that we will be ahead on many fronts. We have also got people in different markets who are taking care of the partner associations in their respective geographies, Google won’t be able to match that level of engagement.

What are some new developments in pipeline at Wego?

On the product front, we are constantly improving and adding new features, particularly on mobile. We are not only focusing on the features we offer on mobile but also at mobile as a marketing channel. On mobile, it is all about reaching the right customer at the right time. It makes sense to offer deals on a hotel in Mumbai to a customer who has just booked a flight to Mumbai. There will be huge improvements in the system by using data that we generate over time.

Lot of efforts are being directed towards improving the customer experience both on desktop and mobile. However, we are not too keen on getting into buses and cabs right now. The market of buses and cabs is very fragmented. As a metasearch player, you have to compare the options available to the customer. However, the products or services vary widely when you are talking about buses and cabs. The offering is not standardised hence it doesn’t make much sense for metasearch players to jump into this space at this point.

We are spending a lot of time on improving the level of personalisation for our customers. Data analytics will have a major role to play towards that. We set up a team around two years back in India to look at data analytics of Wego’s all the geographies. The team is helping us switch from a conventional approach to a more data driven approach. We are using the data analytics to provide better performance to our partners and to better understand our customers.

Other than that, we also have plans to expand to some new geographies in near future. We recently launched in Iran and we are the only meta player in that market right now. More such announcements will be coming from Wego soon.

You can search the best flight and hotel deals for your next trip on Wego’s website. They also have an interesting blog which you can check out if you are looking for some travel inspiration.

The post Ashwin Jayasankar, General Manager of Wego India talks about the metasearch market in India appeared first on TravHQ.

The FICCI Tech Conclave, Delhi saw some leading travel professionals comment on the growing trends in the travel and hospitality sector. One of the topics that pooled various ideas was the future of search landscape. This session focused on how upcoming business models and analytics are the way ahead for metasearch engines.

The pioneers presiding over the session were Aloke Bajpai, Co-Founder & CEO, ixigo, Paul Whiteway, Sales & Commercial Director, APAC, Skyscanner, Nikhil Ganju, Country Manager, India, TripAdvisor, Ashwin Jayasankar, General Manager, India, Wego.

The key takeaways of the panel are as follows.

Business model is variable on the Indian soil

India doesn’t clearly differentiate between OTAs and Metasearches, hence the business model varies in the South East Asian geography given the lack of understanding of the two. The model that is highly efficient in the west, cannot gain roots here soon. This is because a majority of the population has a lesser understanding of the difference between the two than their western counterparts. The traditional methods to travel solutions are still prevalent here. Hence, the portals have a hard time reaching the bottom most layer of the consumer pyramid. Also, the Indian subcontinent is a faster growing marketplace which requires for an all-time-ready team of adaptive proffesionals

Mobile platform is a challenge in the current scenario

Generally speaking, m-commerce has reached its peak in India. With the advent of smartphones, a majority of the population is aware of the advantages of technology on the go. Because the consumer is highly cognizant, metasearch engines like TripAdvisor and Wego are facing a challenge in penetrating the Indian mobile market. The consumers find the major issue at hand is booking on the app, where it directs to the service provider’s platform. Now this creates a lag in the service as the consumable formats are different for both mobile and desktops. TripAdvisor is currently incorporating instant booking option on their app to bridge a gap in this lag which enhances the overall user experience on the mobile platform.

User generated content is more relatable

While metasearches are the just the aggregators of the prices offered by different vendors, a little perspective from the traveller’s side only helps in scaling the content consumption on the portal. User-generated content is always more relatable and consumers prefer them over any other third-party information. Metasearches have transformed itself from just content based portals to price comparison platforms. Metasearches should revamp their approach and focus on more on user generated content which drives more traction. Reviews on TripAdvisor are informative to the traveller while giving them insights on overview of the whole experience. Which is why it’s more reliable.

Specific gains in Indian subcontinent

The consumer database is huge. Indians are all about deals and they want to see more of them. This fact places metasearch engines at a strategically favourable point over OTAs. Having done all the research from various websites, zeroing down the kind of hotel one wants to put up in, the travellers doesn’t hop to different OTAs and then at a metasearch engine they comes across the best deal there can be. The thought process from a consumer point of view is that they get the cheaper deal. So, its a no brainer that the Indian subcontinent is the booming marketplace for a metasearch engine.

Stay tuned for more insights on the FICCI Conclave.

The post “Metasearch engines have a perfect market in the Indian subcontinent”, Ashwin Jayasankar, General Manager, India, Wego appeared first on TravHQ.

Wego, a Singapore-based travel company founded by Craig Hewett and Ross Veitch, has recently unveiled its periodical report that shows the significant increase in travel spending among Asian travellers. This trend will continue till the coming Chinese New Year i.e. 8^th February, 2016.

Craig Hewett and Ross Veitch – The founders of Wego

According to the article, James Huang, market development manager for North Asia – Wego, quoted:

“The average booking values for both flights and hotels on Wego.com is much higher this year, compared to 2015. It’s an indication that travellers have allowed a higher budget allocation for travel during the Chinese New Year period, some more than others. We’re seeing several cities with higher spends this year. The highest year-on-year difference in average booking value, for both flights and hotels, is from Hong Kong travellers, with a jump of around 10%. Similarly Taiwanese and Malaysian travel budgets have increased by 8% this year.”

Travellers had spent more on hotels as per the study. There has been 20% year-on-year increase in spend per hotel stay during Chinese New Year. This year they are more open to bookings of last minute trips.

James Huang elaborated on the booking pattern of the travellers:

“We saw an increase in spontaneous booking trends last year for Chinese New Year travel on Wego.com, compared to 2014, and also longer duration of trips, especially in China itself.”

Few other Asian countries like Malaysia, Hong Kong and Singapore are not lagging behind. There has been an increase in travel spending in these countries simply because of the approaching Chinese New Year. Noticing the potential value of travel market, many startups have come into existence over the past few years. For example, InvestHK asserts that there has been 46% growth of startups from last year in Hong Kong. The number of co-work spaces has surged from three in 2010 to more than 40 now.

The economy of China, Hong Kong and Singapore will continue to strengthen at this moment. This will, in turn, positively affect the overall economy of Asia. This is a good time period for many travel startups to better establish themselves in the market by offering exclusive offers and discounts to potential customers.

Also Read: Wego wants Singaporeans to travel now, but where exactly?

The post Wego Report: Asian travellers spend more for Chinese New Year appeared first on TravHQ.

Observing the currency fluctuations in the market, Wego.com, a prominent travel search site for Asia Pacific and Middle East regions, has recently unveiled its list of the coolest travel destinations for Singaporeans to explore abroad and achieve exclusive monetary benefits.

For Singaporeans, many tourist destinations located near their country have exchange rates that are currently at optimum level against the Singapore Dollar(SGD). In Malaysia, 1 SGD equals 3 Malaysian Ringgit (MYR). Earlier this year the Thai Baht had reached over 25 Thai Baht per Singapore Dollar.

According to the report, Joachim Holte, Chief Marketing Officer of Wego, stated:

“The movement in currency values against the US dollar means there’s never been a better time for Singaporeans to book flights and take a trip. There are so many destinations so close to Singapore where you can save a great deal of money, thanks to fantastically favourable exchange rates. We should all be jumping on a plane! We are lucky to be living in a city in such close proximity to Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia which are all supported by a variety of low-cost airline connections”

Joachim Holte has also mentioned the fact that Thai Baht is already making Bangkok weekends or Andaman Coast holidays “extremely attractive”. He reveals that “Malaysia has never offered better value for the Singapore dollar”. Exciting trips to beautiful islands of Langkawi and Genting Highlands can be booked. The feasts in Penang can’t be missed either.

Australia is one such destination that is turning relatively popular than past years. It’s no news that Singaporeans are becoming adventurous by nature. Of late, they are showing avid inclination towards any country’s natural beauty i.e. coastal areas, rainforests and other landscapes.

Wego India, its Indian counterpart, is located in Bengaluru. This Singaporean company was founded by Ross Veitch and Craig Hewett. It has an exceptional online portal that searches hundreds of global travel websites including airlines, hotel chains and online travel agents. It assists the travellers by saving their time and money while booking the best services at cheaper rates.

The post Wego wants Singaporeans to travel now, but where exactly? appeared first on TravHQ.