Travelling Light

Ever used your mobile phone to check airfares and book tickets? Well, the process is simple. You start by messaging the sector (say, fly del mum for a flight from Delhi to Mumabi) and the date (Oct 22, for October 22) to the concerned shortcode (4242 in the case of flightraja.com, a travel website). In 15 seconds, the service provider reverts with options, essentially the fares and the time of departure. Once you decide, you send a message saying fly book, and an executive calls you in a few minutes to help complete the transaction. Easy, isn't it? It isn't just the mobile phone and it isn't just air tickets. Similar services are available over the internet covering hotel bookings to holiday packages to car rentals.

By some estimates, travel accounted for $151 million (Rs 694.6 crore) of the $262-million (1,205.2- crore) worth of online transactions completed in India in 2005-06. India's most successful e-commerce firm, Indian Railways Catering and Tourist Corporation, is owned by the government, and in 2005-06, sold tickets worth Rs 290 crore online. Travel, as numbers such as these would suggest, is the preferred destination then for entrepreneurs. "This is to ensure that there are a limited number of customer touch points," says Vinay Gupta, CEO, flightraja.com.

Flying High And How Some of the popular websites offering a range of services.

makemytrip.com: Founded in 2000. In May 2005, Soft Bank Asia Infrastructure Fund (SBAIF) invested $10 million in it OFFERINGS: Flights, hotel bookings, holidays in India and elsewhere, car rental services USP (in the company's own words): The travel business is characterised by high-competition and volumes are a must. The only way to handle high volumes is by leveraging technology, which is the USP yatra.com: Began operations about two months ago. Has received funding from Reliance Capital, NWP and TV18 OFFERINGS: Flights, hotel bookings, car rentals, bus services.The company also offers packages like pilgrimages to destinations such as Gangotri and weekend ones to places like Yercaud and Agra. Offers flights and hotel bookings within India USP (in the company's own words): Reassurance is the USP. Tell the consumer that if you come to us, your experience will be smooth. Yatra's objective is to grow the market cleartrip.com: The investors in the company are Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield & Byers, and Sherpalo Ventures OFFERINGS: Flights and hotel bookings within India USP (in the company's own words): Ease and experience is the USP here. The home page is simple with an effort to create the best user experience flightraja.com: Has gone live recently. Former Thomas Cook India CEO Ashwini Kakkar has recently joined as the Chairman of the board OFFERINGS: Flights and holiday packages within India and to overseas destinations USP (in the company's own words): Innovation. Has been among the earliest players to offer services such as bookings through mobile phones Source: Companies

At last count, there were some 15 websites seeking to make money off the travel space. Some, like makemytrip.com, one of the earliest companies to enter the space, offer cheaper-than-cheap airfares (and a host of other things, but it is the airfares that attract customers; and makemytrip actually offers a low-fare guarantee). "Basically, we give back the difference if you find a cheaper deal," says Deep Kalra, founder and CEO, makemytrip. Yatra.com, promoted by Yatra Online and funded by Reliance Capital, Norwest Venture partners and TV 18, believes it is the promise of "the best deal". Says Dhruv Shringi, Co-founder and Executive Director, Yatraonline, "Our USP is the reassurance that your experience will be smooth." With travel sites venturing into hotel reservations, customers can look forward to good bargains here too. "While flight bookings are complex, the challenge in hotel reservations comes from the fact that hospitality is a fragmented industry," says Sandeep Murthy, CEO, cleartrip.com. Customers, then, may have to wait before they can book hotel rooms. Still, given the cost implications for customers, it will be worth the wait