Does Expedia or Booking have the energy to launch their booking apps in four local Indian dialects? Maybe not, but MakeMyTrip does, and that local effort matters.
Emerging markets will shape the future of the travel industry but each region requires a unique strategy. MakeMyTrip and Despegar, online travel leaders in India and Latin America, provide distinct insights into how to succeed their respective home markets.
Investors are understandably focused on MakeMyTrip's ongoing operating losses. But in good news, the company is narrowing the size of those losses while maintaining its growth rates.
The decision by MakeMyTrip, India's largest online travel agency, to start selling Oyo budget lodging is significant. The move recognizes that the heavily funded Oyo is no longer a rival marketplace and is instead primarily a supplier. Asset-light hotel chains need to wake up to Oyo's rise.
India has many homegrown online travel players, but only a couple will thrive. MakeMyTrip will be one of the survivors, but it may take until 2022 for it to achieve profitability. Expect it to make more acquisitions and investments to consolidate market share.
The online travel market in India is ripe with opportunity. But competition is brutal. In response, MakeMyTrip has recently debuted loyalty programs and technological upgrades to entice well-heeled customers to choose it over the discounters.
Travelport's distribution deal with India's largest online travel agency suggests that it can punch above its weight. But Travelport still faces a struggle against its much larger competitors.
In India, market leader MakeMyTrip is betting on a multi-pronged strategy to defend itself against the intrusion of Booking.com on its turf. Execution matters. But so does the patience of MakeMyTrip's key backer, Ctrip.
China's largest online travel company says that it has changed its practices for upselling customers to comply with a consumer watchdog's request. The hiccup shouldn't knock Ctrip off its growth stride.