INDIAN consumers will soon be able to book hotel stays on TripAdvisor, a feature that has all along been available in the US and UK markets.
The company is currently testing the instant booking feature and has refrained from confirming the launch date.
“We will launch instant booking in India when we are ready with the perfect product and system,” said Helena Egan, director of industry relations at TripAdvisor. “We are hoping to be live in more markets very soon and in most of the 48 domains we have across the globe.”
Egan added that the product is slated to be available on mobile, desktop, or both platforms, and are in talks with hotel chains in India for possible tie-ups.
“We have received positive responses and feedback from the hotels in India. We are studying the needs of Indian consumers and may customise the product to suit their requirements should there be a need,” added Nikhil Ganju, the company’s country manager in India.
About 70 per cent of the company’s revenue today comes from advertisements, while the instant booking feature is the company’s second revenue generator.
Commenting on the need to introduce instant booking to its users, Egan remarked: “(It) is a friction-less way for consumers to book (a hotel) in two clicks and it does away with the middleman.
“A lot of hotels in India are highlighting that owning the consumer is important for them as some platforms only provide the names of the consumers, and details such as their emails and physical addresses are not shared.”
TripAdvisor is also looking to roll out this instant booking feature to other Asian countries, especially key markets like China and Japan.
Read more in TTG-PATA Travel Mart 2015 Show Daily
