SMALL STAYS, BIG MARGINS: INSIDE MMT'S PIVOT

MakeMyTrip is leaning on 'constructive paranoia' to counter rivals and the threat of direct booking

- Radhika P. Nair

The headroom for growth is significant in the hotel category, says Rajesh Magow, co-founder and group CEO of MakeMyTrip.

Gangaikonda Cholapuram, the capital of the Chola dynasty for over 250 years, was once a bustling place. Today, it is a sleepy village, with very few good places to stay around the heritage site.

45-year-old Arunram realized this while planning a long weekend with his family recently. He needed a star hotel close to the heritage site and near the highway as he wanted to drive from Chennai.

While researching, his first stop was Agoda, an international online travel booking portal. Unhappy with the choices the site returned, he fell back on MakeMyTrip, India's largest online travel agency (OTA) and a platform he had used in the past.

This time, Arunram wasn't disappointed. He found a small hotel, Merrytale, with a rating of over 4, just off the national highway 36, and under 50km from Gangaikonda Cholapuram.

Arunram's successful booking appears to be a simple affair, executed in a few clicks. But back in Gurugram, nearly 2,500km away, every such transaction is a validation for executives at MakeMyTrip's headquarters. The company, ever since the covid-19 pandemic, has pivoted from air ticket bookings to the hotels and homestays category, quietly building up a massive inventory of 95,000 accommodations in over 2,000 locations across India. This is what allows the aggregator to cater to travellers like Arunram, who venture beyond the big cities and into small corners like Gangaikonda Cholapuram.