Back in 2020, Flipkart had launched a service to make flight bookings on its app. Subsequently, in 2021, the Walmart-backed e-commerce biggie acquired the travel bookings company Cleartrip. Now going whole hog, Flipkart today announced the launch of a new hotel-booking feature, Flipkart Hotels, on its platform.
Flipkart Hotels will allow customers to book hotel rooms across 3 lakh domestic and international hotels. It will benefit from Cleartrip’s deep understanding of travel customers and sectors. Needless to say, Cleartrip's API will be at the core of Flipkart Hotels. Apart from offering flexible travel and booking policies, Flipkart aims to offer easy EMI options as well.
"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," it said in a statement.
Flipkart hopes to ride on travel sector resurgence
"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," Adarsh Menon, Senior Vice President, Flipkart, said in a statement.
The platform will also enable users to avail third-party offers on the Flipkart platform. The company has also set up a dedicated customer care centre to support customers with user-related queries arising from the hotel booking service.
Flipkart hopes to make the most out of the re-found vigour in the travel and tourism industry. It said that 2022 has been a great year for the hospitality industry so far with a notable surge in demand both in the domestic and international accommodation market. New travel trends like exploring lesser-known destinations, 'workations', long stays, and vacation rentals are becoming mainstream. "These developments are giving a boost to the travel industry. Given the 70% growth in the last quarter compared to a CAGR of 60% over the last two years, the next festive quarter is expected to be even better for the overall travel industry," Flipkart said.
