Tag Archives: Dhruv Shringi

Ebix will be acquiring Yatra Online via merger, as part of a definitive agreement signed between the two travel giants. Following the completion of the transaction, Yatra will become part of Ebix’s EbixCash travel portfolio alongside Via and Mercury and will continue to serve customers under the Yatra brand. The transaction will create India’s largest and most profitable travel services company, and a leading online travel platform poised to capture significant international growth opportunities. Ebix Chairman, President and CEO Robin Raina, commented, “The acquisition of Yatra would lend itself to significant synergies and the emergence of EbixCash as India’s largest and most profitable travel services company, besides being the largest enterprise financial exchange in the country. Over the last few months, we have evolved a detailed synergistic plan, that once fully executed can provide between 40 to 75 cents of accretion to the Ebix non-GAAP EPS. We are excited by the cross-selling opportunities that this combination provides us, while further strengthening our future EbixCash IPO offering.” Dhruv Shringi, Co-founder and CEO of Yatra Online. “We are pleased to announce this agreement with Ebix, which provides our shareholders with the opportunity to participate in the significant upside potential of one of the fastest growing multinational On-Demand software and E-commerce services companies in the world. Over the last several years, we have built Yatra into one of India’s most well- recognized e-commerce brands, growing into the leading corporate travel services provider and one of the largest consumer travel companies. Becoming a part of Ebix’s EbixCash travel portfolio will enable us to continue on that path. As part of a larger diversified organization with the necessary scale and resources to be a leader …

Yatra Online has announced the acquisition of the corporate travel business of PL Worldways Limited (PLW), a Chennai-based corporate travel services provider. This acquisition will help strengthen Yatra’s foothold in the southern India region along with adding over 100 corporate clients to its existing client base of over 700. Commenting on the acquisition, Dhruv Shringi, Co-Founder and CEO, Yatra Online, said, “PL Worldways has an unparalleled reputation in corporate travel in the southern part of the country due to its strong customer focus and unmatched service. With this acquisition, we not only strengthen our position in the growing corporate travel market in India but also in Southern India, which has been in our cross-hairs for some time. Our endeavour will be to deliver best-in-class service to PLW’s existing customer base, through our self-booking platform and expense management solution software. We look forward to welcoming PL Worldways team to the Yatra family.” Anil Pathak, Chairman, PL Worldways, said, “We are excited for PL Worldways to join Yatra family. PL Worldways’ local connect and customer service expertise will complement Yatra’s technology platform and leverage the largest hotel network in the country; helping clients optimise their travel spend and improve their travel processes.”

Yatra Online been chosen as the preferred online booking partner for reservations by the Hotels and Restaurant Association (HRA) of Gujarat. In a meeting held in Ahmedabad recently, the association headed by Narendra Somani, President, HRA Gujarat, announced that Yatra.com would be their preferred online booking partner and all bookings coming through it will be honoured. The association has assured travellers that they can make their bookings through Yatra.com and continue to enjoy their stay in Gujarat. Commenting on the announcement, Dhruv Shringi, CEO & Co – Founder, Yatra.com said, “We are humbled by the HRA’s trust in us. We share a long standing business relationship with our hotel partners in Gujarat and will continue to work closely with them to help with online bookings of hotels in the state in order to ensure that no inconvenience is caused to any of the customers making hotel reservations in the state.”  

Yatra Online has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) for the archaeological researches and protection of the cultural heritage of India.  This MoU will enable overseas and domestic tourists to conveniently book their tickets online for 141 historical monuments, museums and sites in India, such as the Taj Mahal, Qutub Minar, Ajanta and Ellora caves, Red Fort, Sun Temple, all of which fall under the purview of ASI. This move, aimed towards supporting Government of India’s ‘Digital India’ initiative, will facilitate digitisation of ASI’s service offerings, thereby providing fast track access and a world-class e-ticket booking experience to visitors. The partnership with Yatra, the only OTA to provide this facility, will also be significant in promoting tourism and cultural heritage in India. The online booking services comes at no additional cost to a customer. Speaking on the partnership, Dhruv Shringi, Co-Founder & CEO, Yatra.com said, “India has an extraordinary and diverse pool of cultural heritage and footfalls to such destinations are astounding. Therefore, we want to provide a high quality visitor experience, which will empower the visitors (both Indian & International) to book their tickets to these monuments online. In addition to providing online booking services, Yatra will be extending its platform for promoting cultural heritage and featuring all the essential information that a tourist needs, to plan their visits along with a synopsis of the monuments.”

The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) inaugurated the third edition of Digital Travel, Hospitality & Innovation Summit on March 21, 2018 at Federation House, New Delhi. The two-day summit is part of FICCI’s mandate to further enhance India’s digital drive in the travel and tourism industry. The summit saw in attendance the high flyers of travel and hospitality industry alongside the giants of travel technology from both India and abroad. The summit kick-started with an inaugural session where Ashish Kumar, Co-Chairman, FICCI Travel Technology Committee & Partner Agnitio Consulting, welcomed the delegates and attendees, followed by a special address by Dhruv Shringi, Chairman, FICCI Travel Technology Committee & CEO and Co-Founder, Yatra Online, where he stressed on the new innovations changing the face of the travel industry around the world. This was followed by keynote addresses by Jason Nash, Chief Storyteller, Travelport; Rajesh Magow, Co-Founder & CEO, MakeMyTrip and Pulkit Trivedi, Director Global Sales Organisation, Facebook India.

Strengthening its corporate travel segment, Yatra.com has launched a self-booking platform for Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) providing corporate customers with comprehensive and convenient travel solutions. Dhruv Shringi, Co-founder and CEO, Yatra.com says, “Yatra’s latest self-booking platform significantly reinforces our position in the large and growing corporate travel market in India. The platform will revolutionise the way business travellers search and book flights and hotels, ultimately saving both time and money in the process.” The newly launched, easy to use online platform includes a range of enhanced features which will empower the SMEs to automate their process to fulfill end-to-end travel business needs. SMEs shall get curated hotel options, best corporate deals and nil to economical cancellation and rescheduling charges. The Goods and Services Tax (GST) complaint system will allow the user to search through a range of flight and hotel options as per the company travel policy and follow the in-built trip approval process to seek their supervisor’s approval. They shall also have access to real time Management Information System (MIS) reports to enable them to monitor their travel expenses. Furthermore, the invoices will be instantly mailed to the registered email ID. There is also a 24×7 support helpline available for support required on visas, passports, and other offline requests. Using this platform, SMEs can manage their company and employee profiles, travel policy compliance, and approval workflow. “We believe that this technological advanced platform will empower SMEs to control their travel needs, while at the same time making it inherently easier for their employees to make bookings in an easy and convenient manner,” Shringi added.

Yatra Online has signed a partnership with OYO which will bring the latter’s inventory on to an online travel agent platform for the first time. With this association, Yatra’s total hotel inventory will further expand to over 70,000 hotels in India, especially in the budget hotel category. Travellers can book OYO hotels on Yatra’s platform, make changes to their reservations and reach out to Yatra’s customer service if required. Dhruv Shringi, Co-founder & CEO, Yatra.com, said, “Yatra continues to expand its reach in tier II and III markets in India. Our partnership with OYO is a firm step in that direction and enables us to deliver a unique proposition to our customers allowing them to choose from an unmatched variety of travel and accommodation options in India.” Ritesh Agarwal – Founder & CEO, OYO said, “Through this partnership, OYO’s quality-assured hassle-free offerings will be accessible to millions of discerning travellers who book on Yatra.com. We welcome them to avail our economy and mid-market offerings that deliver the right balance of price, location and quality. Our mission is to bring high-quality living spaces to all Indians and this alliance will help us penetrate deeper into emerging travel markets.”