Over a period of time, MMT managed to survive and overcome its challenges. The changes that swept through India’s online travel booking scenario made Indians more open to the idea of using online travel websites and changed MMT’s fortunes. In 2003, the Indian railways website, IRCTC (Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation) , launched its first website to help Indian railway passengers purchase tickets online. The IRCTC website provided computerized reservation related enquiries about accommodation availability, passenger status, train schedule, and information about train connectivity between any two places....

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HITTING THE GROWTH SPURT

Similar to airline ticketing, MMT charged a service cost for hotel booking and holiday packages. It claimed that the margins it made from the hotels and holiday packages businesses was double that of the margins made from airline ticketing. In 2007, to give an impetus to the hotels and holiday packages side of the business, MMT re-launched its website with a wider database of hotels. It also made the hotels section more interactive with user reviews (room reviews with actual photos and videos), map search, and ratings on various parameters. The company believed that personalized reviews were impartial and unbiased, prompting more users to consider a hotel. It also started a portal called ‘OkTataByeBye’ where users could post hotel reviews, tour advice, holiday ideas, and travel reviews. ...

MOVING TOWARD HOTELS AND HOLIDAY PACKAGES BUSINESSES

Over a period of time, MMT like other global online travel companies came to the conclusion that the shrinking commissions from airline ticketing would adversely impact the business in the future. Moreover, after the collapse of a leading LCC in India called ‘Kingfisher Airlines’, the Indian air industry faced a sharp decline.

KEEPING TRAVEL TECHNOLOGY IN FOCUS

MMT had its own technology team that developed various new features for the MMT service. It had its own technology platform that integrated the sales, customer service, and fulfillment operations. MMT claimed that the technology platform was scalable and could be upgraded to handle increased traffic and complexity of products with limited additional investment. In the early 2010s, the team developed an application called ‘RoutePlanner’ that enabled users to view multiple routes for the same origin-destination pair that could be traversed using various modes of transportation. Keeping the future customer needs in mind, it developed mobile travel technology, along with interactive technologies that enabled real-time content-generation and socialization for consumers..

ON SHAKY GROUND

Over the years, MMT derived higher revenues from the hotels and holiday package businesses than from flight ticketing (See Exhibit IV for Information on Revenues made from Hotels and Holiday Packages Segments). However, the company struggled to become profitable (See Exhibit Va and Vb for an Insight into MMT’s Key Financials). Analysts believed that the key reason for the losses of MMT was the rising competition in the Indian OTA space. There was a fierce price war, with all OTAs offering heavy discounts to undercut each other and gain market share. The competition was all the higher in the hotels segment, where the key to success was getting the maximum number of hotels on the OTA platform at the best prices..

THE ADVERTISING PUSH

Over the years, MMT used TVCs and sponsorships to create brand awareness, especially in the holiday packages segment. In addition, the company sent targeted mailers and offers based on customer purchase patterns and behavior in order to drive better conversions..

JOURNEY AHEAD

As of 2016, MMT’s products included international and domestic air tickets, holiday packages and hotels, domestic bus and rail tickets, private car and taxi rentals, MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences & Exhibitions) and B2B and affiliate services. In addition, it facilitated access to third-party travel insurance and undertook visa processing. The company operated through the India-focused website, www.makemytrip.com (which included the US sub-domain website), Southeast Asia-focused website, www.hoteltravel.com, Europe-focused website, www.easytobook.com, and United Arab Emirates-focused website, www.makemytrip.ae. .

EXHIBITS

Exhibit I: Information on IBIBO Group’s Travel Brands
Exhibit II: Investors in MMT
Exhibit III: Key Competitors of MMT
Exhibit IV: Hotels and Holiday Packages Contribution to Revenues (As a %Age)
Exhibit Va: MMT’S Key Financials (In Thousands of US$)
Exhibit Vb: Consolidated Profit/Loss Statement (In Thousands of US$)
Exhibit VI: Indian Travel and Tourism Industry