MakeMyTrip, ibibo check into one office

MakeMyTrip and ibibo, two leading online travel companies and which merged last October, have started exploiting synergies. The two Gurugram-head-quartered entities are moving to a new common office there, in one of many attempts to enhance efficiencies.

The two travel majors have also started drawing synergies in areas of alternate accommodation, bus ticket booking and intercity cab transportation. “The first area where we have started drawing synergy is alternate accommodation. We will be consuming the supply coming from MakeMyTrip’s Rightstay and offer it on the Goibibo platform,” said Ashish Kashyap, founder and group chief executive officer of ibibo.

Rightstay was launched by MakeMyTrip last year and has a listing of about 12,500 properties — guest houses, homestays, apartments, cottages and so on.

Kashyap said MakeMyTrip had also started using the bus inventory from redBus, which has till date sold about 60 million tickets and is the largest online bus-ticketing platform in the country. ibibo-promoted redBus operates on about 70,000 routes and works with 2,300 bus operators. ibibo’s ryde, an intercity car sharing platform launched last year, will also be integrated with the MakeMyTrip platform. The duo intend to together develop these and offer it to customers, to become a one-stop shop for travel needs.

They have also decided to retain MakeMyTrip, goibibo and redBus as independent entities. “We will continue to develop these brands, along their independent focus areas. Other than the areas where we have started drawing synergies, there will be more synergistic projects that we (MakeMyTrip and ibibo) will do,” Kashyap said.

The two companies have talked about jointly developing the outbound travel market and holiday packages market. MakeMyTrip and ibibo jointly will also be in a better position to bargain for higher margins with airlines and hotels, they think. This will also allow them to rationalise the discounts, especially on hotels.

While the two entities move to a common corporate office, Kashyap said there is no plan to downsize the workforce. “We are really focused on rampingup some of the new businesses, such as alternate travel. We want to leverage the existing manpower and use the best people to grow the businesses.”

The online travel market in the country has been rapidly expanding, with the rise in the number of internet and smartphone users. However, online booking is yet to reach many, especially in smaller cities and towns. Global investors are therefore pumping in millions in Indian travel companies. In January 2016, MakeMyTrip raised $180 million from Chinese travel major Ctrip to grow the hotel business. A month later, ibibo secured an investment of $250 million from Naspers, a South African internet and media company.

“The first area where we have started drawing synergy is alternate accommodation. We will be consuming the supply coming from MakeMyTrip’s Rightstay and offer it on the Goibibo platform” ASHISH KASHYAP Founder and group chief executive, ibibo