Startups are no strangers to the challenges of scaling, with every decision holding the potential to accelerate or pause growth. In this high-stakes environment, even seemingly minor aspects such as business travel can become a significant pain point. On top of that, if a startup is resource-strapped, as is the case with a vast majority, balancing the necessity of travel with cost efficiency and operational convenience can quickly become a logistical nightmare.
The latest report by Deloitte, titled India’s Corporate Travel Market: Understanding Market Dynamics, TMCs, and User Preferences, points out to the growing sentiment among large and small companies towards a digital-first approach. This is also influenced by the unpredictability of the recent times in the aftermath of COVID-19, powering the demand for tailored services and adaptable plans.
The report states that travel management companies have made key gains as compared to the pre-pandemic period. The more revealing data from this report concerns MakeMyTrip, the country’s leading online travel agency. NASDAQ-listed MakeMyTrip, which did not have a dedicated corporate travel segment until 2018, has managed to become the largest corporate travel OTA with a 22% share as of FY23. The platform has managed to gain 59,700 corporate clients, as per MakeMyTrip’s latest quarterly report.
For the Gurugram-based OTA, myBiz has been a major lever to pull companies, which earlier heavily depended on manual interventions. It has emerged as a one-stop solution with an end-to-end automated journey, encompassing bookings, itineraries, and expense management, eliminating errors and manual redundancies. An enhanced user experience also helped pave the way for myBiz on the back of integrations and partnerships, including collaborations with industry leaders like Zoho and Darwinbox.
The report has noted that this surge in demand for travel management companies was led by the growing realization about the superior user experience and cost optimization on the back of self-booking tools, backend support by call center operators, dedicated travel advisors, and queries management by online ticketing tools.
Every penny matters
Valued at $10.6 billion, the corporate travel market contributes about 20% to the overall Indian travel market, with airlines and hotels contributing nearly 85% of the overall corporate travel market in India.
As per the Deloitte report, companies involved in IT services, pharma, aviation, and engineering end up spending over 1% of their net income to corporate travel on account of the nature of their industry. For smaller organizations with up to 250 employees, travel expenses can amount to Rs 1 crore and larger companies allocate significantly more.
Hence, the growing focus on cost savings and efficiencies is visible across MSME/SMEs as well as large companies as self-booking tools (SBTs) reduce reliance on travel advisors, offering 2–3% cost savings, a crucial advantage for startups aiming to maximize their budgets, the report added.
For SaaS-based platform myBiz, real-time booking transparency, special corporate fares, a centralized dashboard that offers deep insights into travel expenses, flexibility of low cancellation fees and easy date modifications have influenced the growth in its corporate customer count. However, automated GST reconciliation has emerged as the key factor behind myBiz leadership as it saves time and prevents hassle for businesses when filing taxes.
Streamlining travel for startups
For startups, business travel is vital for growth but often challenging due to fluctuating costs and logistical complexities. While many rely on travel agents, they face issues like high costs, poor transparency, and inconsistent service.
As travel needs evolve, real-time reporting and analytics by travel management companies will continue to provide deeper insights into travel spending. This enables startups to make data-driven decisions, optimising travel resources as the team expands.
For startups looking to streamline their travel management processes and maximise their growth potential, platforms like myBiz offer an indispensable toolset. It’s time to simplify your travel management and focus on what matters most—growing your business. Amidst the whirlwind of business trips, that’s exactly the kind of innovation businesses need to thrive.
