Flipkart ventures into the hospitality industry, launches hotel booking
- ByStartupStory | September 8, 2022
E-commerce company Flipkart announced its new venture into the hospitality sector on Tuesday. It has launched a hotel-booking feature – Flipkart hotels, allowing customers to book hotel rooms across 3 lakh domestic and international hotels.
With this announcement, Flipkart will directly compete with Nasdaq-listed MakeMyTrip, EaseMyTrip, and Booking Holdings, which runs travel sites such as Booking.com, Agoda, and Kayak. This comes a year after it purchased a 100% share in travel booking site Cleartrip. Flipkart Hotels will benefit from Cleartrip’s comprehensive expertise in travel clients and sectors owing to the company’s API.
Flipkart adds that by launching hotel services, it hopes to provide its consumers with a slew of cheap perks, such as flexible travel and booking policies, simple EMI alternatives, and other ways to make travel more reasonable. It says, “ Available on the Flipkart app, this new offering provides a hassle-free booking experience, and timely communication through popular messaging apps. The platform further enables users to avail third-party offers on Flipkart platform.” Flipkart Hotels also intends to enhance its client service. A dedicated customer service center has been established to assist clients with user-related concerns for their convenience and to provide a remarkable experience.
The senior President of Flipkart, Mr. Adarsh Menon presented a hopeful tone when he said, “ We are excited to launch Flipkart Hotels on the Flipkart app which will provide access to affordable hotel stays convenient for the customers. Flipkart Flight is on a steady path of growth in the travel industry since we entered this space. With Flipkart Hotels, we are strengthening our commitment to provide a better experience and superior service to our customers across metros and beyond tiers.”
“With our banking partners’ financial offerings, the customers will unlock great value in this segment and enhance Flipkart’s capabilities as a preferred one-stop shop for the travel booking needs of Indian customers,” Menon adds.