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The Hosteller partners with redBus
The Hosteller, India’s largest backpacker hostel chain, announces its partnership with redBus, the world’s largest online bus ticketing platform, directly onto the Hosteller’s website and Glu App. This collaboration brings an unparalleled level of convenience to guests, allowing them to book their stay and transportation seamlessly in one place. This thoughtful integration will bring a truly holistic travel experience for customers by eliminating the need for multiple booking platforms. Guests can now arrange their accommodation at The Hosteller and plan their journeys across India with ease, accessing thousands of bus routes nationwide. The streamlined process ensures that every traveller, from digital nomads to solo explorers and family vacationers, can enjoy a simplified, cost-effective, and reliable way to move from one destination to another. Through The Hosteller’s Glu App, tech-savvy travellers will be able to book bus tickets, check schedules, and track their buses directly. Whether planning a weekend getaway or a multi-city adventure, guests can manage their entire itinerary from a single platform. Budget-friendly options and special offers are also key benefits of this partnership, with access to exclusive discounts and promotions. From luxury buses to sleeper coaches, guests can choose the transport option that best suits their travel preferences and budget. For those planning workations, this partnership ensures easy connectivity between cities, making The Hosteller an even more attractive option for remote workers. One significant highlight of the Hosteller x redBus partnership is dual customer support. Travel often involves unforeseen changes or challenges, including last-minute changes in travel plans, cancellations, and delays. As both brands combine their forces, customers can now expect more prompt customer service. Pranav Dangi, Founder and CEO, The Hosteller, said, “Our partnership with redBus not only strengthens the travel eco-system we offer to our guests but has also created a strong foundation between the two companies to work towards offering seamless services even in the future. Integrating redBus on our website and web app is a step to ensure every guest who thinks of travelling and staying at The Hosteller has everything that is needed under one roof. We are eliminating the hassle of booking travels and making it very easy with just a few taps”. Manoj Agarwala, CBO, redBus, mentioned, “As one of the largest online bus ticketing platforms, our mission is to make travel planning as seamless and accessible for our customers as possible. Young travellers are an important cohort for us and this partnership caters to them as hostels are used primarily by younger people. Moreover, several of the properties are off beat destinations, where buses are often the primary mode of transport. By working with The Hosteller, we are delivering a “one-stop solution” for all kinds of booking needs for our passengers”.
Madhya Pradesh Tourism signs landmark MoU with MakeMyTrip & redBus
From left to right: Dr. Manoj Kumar Singh, Director of Skill MPTB; Shri Vivek Shrotriya, IAS, Additional Managing Director of Madhya Pradesh Tourism Board, Bhopal; Sameer Bajaj, Head of Communications and Corporate Affairs at MakeMyTrip; and Kalpesh Bhamre, Associate Director & Regional Head for Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. In a significant move to boost tourism in Madhya Pradesh, the Department of Tourism, Madhya Pradesh, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with MakeMyTrip and redBus. This strategic partnership aims to foster sustainable tourism development and promote Madhya Pradesh as a premier tourist destination. The MOU outlines a mutual commitment to promote homestays in Madhya Pradesh, a known method to increase rural and urban incomes, provide sustainable alternate streams of income, and boost low-carbon tourism in the state. The company will also provide offline and online training sessions to existing and upcoming homestay operators to help them understand the various nuances of promoting and running such properties effectively. Further, MakeMyTrip will collaborate with the tourism department to intensify the focus on promoting pilgrimage and wildlife-led travel experiences that the state has to offer through its platform. redBus will be recognized as the official “Online Bus Ticketing Partner” by the Madhya Pradesh Tourism Board and will work to help travellers discover the far reaches of the state. redBus will also bring the various festivals and events that are unique to Madhya Pradesh closer to travellers across the country. Sheo Shekhar Shukla, Principal Secretary, Tourism & Managing Director, Madhya Pradesh Tourism Board, said, “Madhya Pradesh is a treasure trove of enriching experiences with the largest number of land-based wildlife national reserves in India and numerous cultural and religious sites transcending ages within its confines. We are committed to showcasing our state with pride and curating newer experiences to suit modern travellers across age groups. We believe this collaboration will help us tap into newer approaches and avenues to support our goal in a conscious, sustainable and equitable manner.” Rajesh Magow, Co-Founder and Group CEO, MakeMyTrip, said, “Madhya Pradesh holds a prominent place in India’s tourism landscape. Our attempt with this collaboration is to garner greater visibility for tourist destinations in the state, leveraging the strengths of our platform. This includes our growing homestays segment, as well as spiritual and wildlife tourism. Our expansive footprint and proven track record in delivering innovative solutions make us uniquely positioned to contribute to the tourism sector in Madhya Pradesh.” Prakash Sangam, CEO, redBus, said, “We are thrilled to be recognized as the official ‘Online Bus Ticketing Partner’ by the Madhya Pradesh Tourism Board. When it comes to travel, discovery of any place is much more in-depth when travelling by road. We firmly believe that this strategic collaboration will not just enhance travel experiences for our customers but also contribute to an enriched discovery of the state’s hidden gems and experiences.”
Cover Genius teams up with RedBus to offer Singaporeans “Cancel For Any Reason” travel protection
Insurtech company Cover Genius has announced a partnership with bus ticketing platform RedBus to offer customers in Singapore cancel for any reason (CFAR) travel protection when they book their tickets. Should anything go wrong during their travels, customers are also backed by a best-in-class claims experience. “Recent research shows that 51% of travellers across Singapore intend to switch how they purchase travel protection, mostly in favour of suppliers and OTAs who can embed it within the booking experience. The shift is caused by a demand for convenience but also because customers were dissatisfied with their insurance coverages and claims experience during the pandemic. There’s clearly a need for technology to provide a more seamless experience,” said Barney Pierce, SVP Strategic Partnerships, APAC for Cover Genius. “In response to customers who need more flexibility at this time, our partnership with RedBus brings award-winning protection to travellers if they need to make a change, no questions asked.” This partnership follows research that revealed travellers are choosing to attach protection to their purchases at a rate 6X times higher than at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Amid an accelerated need for protection, Cover Genius’ partnership with RedBus gives travellers easy-to-understand, comprehensive protection for peace of mind when planning their next trip. “Part of the travel industry's recovery involves addressing our customers' need for additional protection,” said Krishnan Ramaswami, Senior Vice President, South-East Asia Business for RedBus. “Cover Genius’ technology-led approach, allowed us to quickly and easily integrate across geographies to offer our customers flexible, easy-to-understand travel protection, tailored to their itinerary.” RedBus customers in Singapore can now add CFAR travel protection to their trip when booking online.
MakeMyTrip turns ‘25’
Representative Image MakeMyTrip, celebrates 25 years of being #IndiaKaTravelPartner, marking the occasion with a nostalgic and heartwarming brand film featuring its long-time ambassadors, Alia Bhatt and Ranveer Singh. This 25-year journey is a story of how travel in India has transformed and how MakeMyTrip has played a pivotal role in that evolution. At a time when online travel bookings were met with scepticism due to low internet penetration and inhibitions around digital transactions, MakeMyTrip took a leap of faith. Founded in April 2000, the brand set out to empower Indian travelers by making trip planning and booking seamless and accessible through technology. As digital adoption grew and consumer preferences shifted, travel in India underwent a profound transformation. Once considered an occasional luxury, travel has now become a far more integral part of life, with a large portion of disposable income being allocated on travel. The excitement of long weekends, the growing aspiration for luxury vacations, the rise of drivecations fueled by improved infrastructure, and the increasing ease of cross-border travel have redefined how Indians explore. Today, travelers are more confident, spontaneous, and eager to embrace new experiences—driven by an innate desire to create lasting memories. And MakeMyTrip has been at the heart of this. From flights and hotels to holiday packages, alternative accommodations, rail and bus ticketing, taxis, forex services, travel insurance, and visa assistance, MakeMyTrip has grown into a full-stack travel super-app, redefining the way India experiences travel. Today, the company boasts over 80 million lifetime transacted customers, more than 490 million app downloads, and processes approximately 230 transactions every minute across its three platforms – MakeMyTrip, Goibibo and redBus –underscoring its massive scale and impact in the travel industry. To celebrate this milestone, the company has launched a heartfelt film, that takes viewers on a nostalgic journey through the years. The film opens with Alia and Ranveer flipping through an old photo album, reminiscing about childhood vacations—those simpler times of spontaneous travel, when families arrived at hotels without prior bookings. It then transitions through different eras, showcasing the advent of cyber cafes for online reservations and the gradual shift to mobile apps that made travel planning effortless. The film beautifully captures how MakeMyTrip has been a constant companion in this journey, making travel more accessible, convenient, and delightful. As the story unfolds, it also offers a playful glimpse into the future—where Alia and Ranveer, with childlike wonder, imagine what travel could look like 25 years from now. A trip to Mars, perhaps? Of course, booked on MakeMyTrip. “Our 25-year journey has been shaped by an unwavering commitment to customer-centricity, delivering value to our partners, and staying true to our vision of making travel simpler, smarter, and seamless,” said Rajesh Magow, Co-Founder & Group CEO of MakeMyTrip. “This milestone isn’t just ours—it belongs to every traveler who has placed their trust in us, every partner who has grown alongside us, and every team member who has shaped our journey. As we look ahead, our commitment remains stronger than ever—to push boundaries, drive innovation, and create even more enriching travel experiences. For us, this is just the beginning, and the best is yet to come.” As it marks the 25-year milestone, MakeMyTrip stands not only as a travel leader, but also as a reminder that lasting success is built on strong fundamentals: product-market fit, customer obsession, and the ability to adapt quietly and consistently.
5 reasons why traditional travel protection is obsolete
Travel protection is top of mind or even seen as a mandatory requirement for travellers. From unexpected illness to stormy conditions, any number of unforeseen events have the potential to derail a carefully laid out travel itinerary. Now more than ever, travellers need to plan for the best and prepare for the worst with protection that helps shoulder the blow if anything were to happen before or during their trip. Unfortunately, most travel insurance policies fall short of their needs, addressing little to none of their concerns and turning even the smallest problems into big headaches with outdated processes and systems. Here are five reasons why traditional travel protection is now obsolete and how alternative providers are stepping up to give travellers true peace of mind. Travel insurance is no longer an after-thought, but a must-have Leading insurtech Cover Genius published a case study revealing that travellers are now opting to add protection at a rate 6X higher than pre-pandemic levels. It’s clear that travel protection has become a must-have for any journey, as it covers a number of risks including medical emergencies, flight disruptions and more, and some countries are even mandating travel protection as part of their visa requirements. In order to meet consumer demand and boost customer satisfaction, travel companies should look to make protection an integral part of their booking process. A one-size-fits-all approach isn’t enough As travel slowly returns and countries lift their restrictions, many are eager to hop on a plane after three years of being stuck at home. However, travel is still risky, with flight cancellations and delays, unpredictable weather, changing regulations and more. Given the myriad of challenges, having travel protection is the smart and necessary choice, but conventional travel policies are not built to cover all the problems travellers encounter on their trips. For instance, most policies explicitly do not cover travel impacted by restrictions or travel warnings issued by the government or a health department. Every individual’s needs are different, which is why a cookie-cutter approach to protection won’t work. Instead of forcing travellers into ill-fitting policies, Cover Genius works with its travel partners, such as Booking Holdings, Skyscanner, Agoda, Ryanair, Turkish Airlines and redBus to co-create solutions that are fit-for-purpose, including Cancel for Any Reason (CFAR), which offers customers ultimate peace of mind when they book their next big trip or event Covid Cover, offering emergency medical and expenses cover for any injury or illness, including COVID-19. Trip Cancellation, with COVID-19-related benefits such as failed PCRs, failed temperature checks and more. Airline Collapse Cover, offering instant refunds if airlines become insolvent. Travellers aren’t getting the protection they thought they paid for An embedded insurance travel report commissioned by Cover Genius and conducted by Momentive.ai found that traditional insurers went missing during the pandemic. In fact, 20% of global travellers who made a claim for pandemic-related reasons were not covered, despite obtaining a policy that had pandemic-related coverage. This gap shows that traditional travel protection is falling short of expectations, and travel companies must strive to uphold the standards they’ve set for their brand in their ancillary offerings. To give travellers the ultimate assurance when planning their next trip, Cover Genius offers Cancel For Any Reason (CFAR) protection to the customers of the world’s largest travel companies and airlines including Booking Holdings, Hopper, Turkish Airlines, Ryanair, Agoda, Skyscanner and more. When adding CFAR to their booking, travellers can rest easy knowing they’re covered for anything that might come their way, whether it be illness, cancelled transport, or anything else that might derail their journey. Another study was conducted in the short-term rental hosts' sphere, which found short-term rental hosts want around-the-clock landlord insurance from their listing provider, not just the overlapping coverage they currently provide during the rental period. A whopping 98% of those surveyed would instead be interested in purchasing landlord insurance from their rental listing provider, with convenience as the key motivator. Consumers want a seamless experience After a traveller buys a flight ticket, they might realize they want to purchase insurance for their upcoming trip, but they don’t know where to start. Instead of making protection a second step in the booking process, embedded insurance allows customers to purchase protection directly in the booking path. In the previously mentioned report, Cover Genius found in their travel report that 45% of travellers would prefer to purchase travel insurance directly from their travel provider or agent for their next trip. Delivering a seamless customer experience with embedded protection led to an increase in attach rates for Cover Genius’ network of travel partners. For example, Icelandair saw 3.8x more passengers opt for protection from the airline than the preceding period, while attach rates for global travel marketplace Skyscanner have grown steadily since integrating with Cover Genius, peaking at a high of nearly 130% growth. Travellers demand better customer service When asked about their most recent trip, travellers rated their post-claims NPS at -25, with credit card programs delivering the poorest outcomes for their customers (-34). To deliver the claims experience that travellers want, Cover Genius has created a fully digital, automated process that provides instant payments of approved claims via a range of payment methods in more than 90 currencies. That means customers don’t have to wait weeks for updates on their claims or deal with checks in the mail. The result is a post-claims NPS of +65‡ and increased brand loyalty for Cover Genius’ partners. ‡ The score includes any type of claim and claim outcome across our partner network except for those partners with less than 30 claims and those not assessed by Cover Genius. LEARN MORE
One in three Indians looking to travel this winter
One in every three Indian is planning to travel and take a holiday during the upcoming Christmas and New Year season, according to a recent survey conducted by Goibibo’s Consumer Insights. The survey indicates that 60% of the respondents who are willing to travel during the winter holiday season are planning to spend the year end vacationing in the hills or by the beach. Amongst the surveyed more than 70% are hoping to relax and celebrate this winter holiday season with their family, spouse or partner while the rest are looking to end the year traveling with friends and long-not-met colleagues. While travellers are equally split between beaches and mountains as holiday destination of choice in India – they concur the destination has to bring them closer to nature and be scenic more than anything else. While nearly 70% respondents want to spend time outdoors, soaking in the sights or doing adventure activities like rafting, hiking, water sport or just sightseeing; only 20% respondents are looking to wrap the year at bars or parties. As safety remains paramount, survey responders gave highest preference to sanitization, hygiene and safety certification in their order of priority while choosing their stay option. Rajesh Magow, co-founder and group CEO of MakeMyTrip that includes MakeMyTrip, Goibibo and redBus, said: “Pent-up wanderlust is real and these survey findings reflect that Indians are finding new ways to fulfil their travel aspirations and are confidently stepping forward when assured of safe travel choices. Over the past few months, we have worked closely and creatively with the entire travel and hospitality value chain to raise safety standards and help customers make the journey from being homebound to being travellers again. Bookings for the winter festive holiday season on goibibo indicate an increase in travel to domestic leisure destinations including Goa, Lonavala, Mahabaleshwar, Pondicherry, Coorg, Shimla, Manali and Darjeeling. As we step into 2021, we are confident of a continued upward travel trend that will find more force as mass vaccine rollout plan materialises.” The survey conducted among 2,000+ respondents between 15 November to 5 December 2020 further indicates that the winter holiday season will witness nearly 60% leisure travellers booking a trip for two or more days. Long distance leisure travel makes a strong comeback while drive-through holidays continue to remain a preferred option amongst Indian travellers. 50% travellers across all demographics and cohorts are willing to opt for air travel for the upcoming winter holiday season signalling a strong boost in passenger confidence and trust in hopping on to a flight for a holiday post pandemic. With flight holidays in equal consideration as drive-through holidays, the preference to air travel can also be attributed to the mini-road trips undertaken by people since Unlock was announced in July.
MakeMyTrip and Flipkart announce travel partnership
MakeMyTrip and Flipkart announced a partnership that will leverage the MakeMyTrip, Goibibo, and Redbus products and services to provide Flipkart's customers with online travel bookings. Last week, we predicted Flipkart would launch a travel marketplace. We covered the pending rumours around Flipkart's entry into travel including the strong investor and board links between MakeMyTrip and Flipkart. It's an exciting announcement with the potential to alter India's online travel landscape. Scale matters in the OTA business and the deal brings MakeMyTrip's products and services to Flipkart's 100 million+ registered users. Flights will come almost immediately with domestic bookings starting in the next few weeks followed by hotels, buses and holiday packages. It's unclear though what the offering will look like for Flipkart customers. So, we mocked up a Fliggy type UI. It will need to be a materially different experience to be compelling. Just inserting traditional OTA products into the platform in a white label like approach won't be compelling enough. Fliggy was Alitrip but when Alibaba replaced Alitrip with Fliggy they started from scratch and built a platform specifically designed to support and the marketplace model. We are eager to see what Flipkart brings to market with their domestic flight launch. It's been a busy week for Flipkart in the press as less than 24 hours ago speculation broke that Amazon was negotiating for a potential bid. WalMart and Flipkart were already rumoured to be in advance talks regarding a majority share sale. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HVZ8U9arTNQ The recent travel announcements just reinforce our earlier positions about the Flipkart culture and leadership. We have reached out to other industry leaders for comments and will provide updates here. CEO's from both rained positive PR on the announcement: Kalyan Krishnamurthy, CEO of Flipkart said, “Flipkart and MakeMyTrip have played a defining role in shaping the consumer internet ecosystem in India and bringing millions of people online. This strategic partnership helps us make travel booking a seamless experience for customers, even those in the farthest regions, while also furthering our goal of being a one-stop destination for all digital transactions online.” "This strategic partnership helps us make travel booking a seamless experience for customers" Through the partnership, MakeMyTrip will be able to leverage Flipkart’s growing consumer base to drive online bookings in travel services. At present, Flipkart has over 100 million registered users. Deep Kalra, founder and group CEO of MakeMyTrip added, “Flipkart is one of the most exciting companies of our times and we are delighted to partner with them to catalyse the massive online travel opportunity in India. This partnership will help us reach out to an even wider consumer base and further open up the online travel market in a significant way.”
MakeMyTrip Ltd renews OYO partnership
Model photo from Shutterstock used to illustrate article points India’s largest online travel services provider, MakeMyTrip Ltd, formally announced that it entered an agreement with award-winning budget hospitality company OYO. The agreement entails hosting the online hotel chain’s economy, mid-segment and vacation rentals assets for booking through MakeMyTrip Ltd’s OTA platforms MakeMyTrip and Goibibo. This means MakeMyTrip and Goibibo customers can now choose from economy-mid market hotels, friendly next-door hotels and fully-managed homes in Goa, Pondicherry, Coorg, Udaipur, Nainital, Shimla and other leading tourist destinations. The announcement explained that prior to the agreement, travellers were originally forced to compromise on location, quality and price due to a supply-demand imbalance of living spaces that rendered the country’s hospitality and real estate categories “broken.” It will be recalled that MakeMyTrip Ltd delisted SoftBank Group-backed OYO properties on its websites in late 2015 citing “quality issues” as the official reason, although numerous local media saw it as a defence of its market shares and margins in the lucrative hospitality industry. In late 2017, MakeMyTrip Ltd chief financial officer Mohit Kabra told Techstory and TechCircle that the company was reconsidering its position on OYO, which it no longer saw as a direct competitor but as a key supplier due to its “shift towards hospitality.” VCCircle attributed a similar statement to MakeMyTrip Ltd loyalty programme MMTBlack’s founder and CEO Deep Kalra. Today, its official announcement mentions the renewed partnership as a strategy to capitalise the rapid growth of India’s travel sector, where travellers number in the billions. This is said to be prompted in part by a “massive surge” in the budget hotels category, which a YourStory report valued at around US$20 billion. “We are excited to join hands with OYO and build synergies in the fragmented hotels segment to serve this very promising market. As the leader in online travel, we believe this partnership will help serve our customers by giving an even wider spread of quality hotels to choose from and drive growth in online hotel bookings,” shared Ritwik Khare, MakeMyTrip Ltd chief business officer for hotel & accommodations in an official press statement. “We are committed to bringing the best travel experience to our customers,” added MakeMyTrip Ltd co-founder & India CEO Rajesh Magow. “It’s why we offer them a variety of options across price segments, particularly in the fragmented value economy and mid-market categories, where there is a greater need to build assurance around the stay experience.” Mutual benefits in the heat of fierce competition While OYO began operating as an aggregator service, it has taken care to brand itself as an OTA, even as Business Standard reported that it rivals OTAs in hotel nights sales. This identity is now an advantage, given that the company has recently entered the homestay segment with OYO Homes and has started offering the concierge service OYO Captains. The YourStory report added that the start-up's newest property vertical, OYO Townhouse, would benefit from the renewed partnership the most through the visibility and reach it would grant. OYO Townhouse seeks to expand to over 275 properties across 12 cities by the end of this year. (OYO currently has over 70,000 exclusive rooms across 230 cities in India, Nepal, and Malaysia.) OYO founder and CEO Ritesh Agarwal shared, “With OYO, we’ve created a brand that resonates with both our customers and hotel partners. Being a full-stack hospitality tech company, we have built capabilities to run quality-ensured accommodations across different formats and placed them in the hands of travellers who are constantly on the lookout for unique experiences.” “Our mission is to resolve the problem of quality in India’s hospitality market by creating beautiful living spaces and offering varied experiences to millions of travellers,” OYO chief strategy officer Maninder Gulati added.“This partnership is a big step forward in that direction.” NASDAQ-listed MakeMyTrip Ltd, which has a market capitalisation of $2.75 billion, has had a history of partnerships and acquisitions. In what was considered one of the largest OTA consolidations of 2016, its merger with rival Ibibo Group allowed it to acquire the latter’s portfolio frontrunners Goibibo and redBus. But it seems this renewed partnership with OYO generated lukewarm reactions. India’s Economic Times reported that MakeMyTrip Ltd shares remained largely flat during mid-morning trade after this announcement. What’s more, MakeMyTrip Ltd competitor Yatra Online Inc also entered a partnership with OYO in Q4 2017. Economic Times and YourStory added that the partnership pits MakeMyTrip Ltd and OYO in direct competition with Matrix Partners-backed Treebo. The budget hotel chain’s owner and operator, Ruptub Solutions, originally cited MakeMyTrip Ltd’s high commission charges as the reason it delisted all Treebo properties from MakeMyTrip and Goibibo. Another player eager for a piece of the budget hotel action is RedDoorz, a dominant Southeast Asia player built by MakeMyTrip alumnus Amit Saberwal.
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