What’s Hot in the Hot Summer

After the cold winter months, recession etal summer brings in a bunch of positive vibes all around. Suddenly the word vacation is abuzz and plans are afoot to visit the best of places with the best deals with your friend family and loved ones.

With around 500 leads a day you suddenly realize that summer is banging at the door. So are the teams ready to tackle the onslaught of leads, bookings, performance targets? It’s the time for a litmus test of the battle preparedness indicating no more of free times, no leaves or those extended breaks over the cafeteria!

A look at the team and you know IHR is up to the mark this summer with more trained people, strong internal processing, destination experts, travel guides with enhanced local content and to top it all a more user-friendly brand new UI on our web page.

There is frenzied activities across all processes led by an energetic sales team handling leads, making brisk sales and earning handsome bonuses on hitting the bull’s eye, the busy bee travel counselors hooked on the phones and offering n number of choices with the best deals on earth for cool holidays, an exasperated accounts and operations team looking at their excel sheets without battling an eyelid figuring out the honey, the BD and research team scratching their heads to come out with the best destinations and finally the tech team making sure that we can handle the spurt in traffic deftly.

IHR’s arsenal this summer looks deadly with new forays, smart holiday ideas and cool packages. With regular bestsellers like pilgrimages-Vaishno Devi , Ambaji, Shirdi or Tirupati shows no signs of stopping or the perennial favourites, weekend destinations to Ganpatipule, Yeracaud and Yelagiri -IHR’s hands are full.

This summer we are also unleashing our brand new initiatives in set jetting, wellness and IPL, all new travel ideas marking a new chapter in Indiahotelreview.com’s continuing leadership over the budget travel. Where are you heading this summer?

Advertisement

The Year that was 2008: In Retrospect and Ahead

Please forgive me for writing this post quite a bit late and to be honest, in haste. As I am caught up in a lot of stuff that require my attention as and now I try to “peacefully” string up a few thoughts to put 2008 in perspective. Actually there are quite a few things to share about the year that was 2008.

The first thing that comes to mind is the Sales figure. As compared to 2007, we have registered almost double the sales. Considering the times we are in this is a remarkable feat! Surprisingly December, (Post 26/11) the fag end of the year was our best month that gave a boost to our sales.

Conversion of the leads is another area that has shown a tremendous progress. Our self made itineraries really caught on the attention of FITs (fully independent travelers). As a result conversion percentage is better and the numbers doubled.

Talking of Packages, there is a paradigm shift in the way they were organized. Better research, more budget hotels, and better places and voila! The results are just astonishing. We sold Kerala, like never before. Varkala, Bekal, Munnar, the Backwaters went on a spree. LTC packages for Port Blair and North East, a relatively late entrant (starting August) have also brought us as a significant player in these regions. We consolidated on our traditional stronghold of Bangalore and Chennai weekends, along with Honeymoon and Pilgrimage packages all showing an upward trend.

With 20 travel guides already live, Content is moving into new realm. Written from a budget traveler’s perspective the focus is on hot selling destinations. To encourage community participation there are options of photo uploads and comments on each page. The destinations virtually crisscross India with Katra, Corbett, Varkala, Manali etall. The year also marked the opening of our first retail outlet at Rawatbhata Kota on 26th October. Our travel voucher as a product has been established in the market.

Internally IndiaHotelReview.com – IHR has made quite a few structural changes, the UI of the site has been given a new look with more value additions. QnA with city experts and local guides has really taken off. Inspite of our limited branding through SEO, share of the market pie is getting better and bigger. Customer Support service is much organized now with transparency and increased level of customer friendliness. There is a drastic change from 2007 when we were just 1 year old.

Last but not the least the ambitious plan of Business development initiatives taken in 2008 harvested rich dividends. Not only we could get in the photographs of the hotel accommodation but it also helped in assessing the exact position and improving the communication with the hotel fraternity. This sums up our gains in 2008.

Looking ahead 2009

For the year ahead IHR plans to grow stronger and more focused. If 2008 was all about Sales & Community, 2009 could be the year of Community and sales in that order. Finally, you are as good as your team and that is what separates the boys from the men. Best Website of the year in pocket, Team IHR is the winner and that’s what I wanted this post to be all about.

Corbett This Season: Travel Guide and the Saga of the Elusive Tiger

IndiaHotelReview.com– IHR’s second Travel Guide is all about Corbett, but if you think that reading this is your last chance to spot that elusive tiger then drop that ambition! It’s not in our hand and not the wild life guys can do anything about it.

Like umpteenth Travel Guides on Corbett we are not hell bent on providing you with the “101 tricks to catch a glimpse of Tiger”. Instead, we have stuck to the primary role of a safari guide. That is to interpret not reinvent the natural world as it is sans frills for his/her guests. Our Guide stresses on those “other things” that Corbett has to offer, which visitors in their overexcitement to spot the Tigers often misses out.

Call it what you will, we have tried to keep it crisp but informative. Our writers with a passion for people and wildlife beyond the ordinary traversed the whole terrain of Corbett National Park to bring out only first hand information, thus ensuring unbeatable and interpretive safari experiences that is in a league of their own.

Corbett this season is all about mating of Deers, casting a line to tempt the prize catch- golden Mahseer, the howling Jackals in the evening or early morning, imposing Sals, expanses of waving grass, wide gravel river beds, tall stands of teak and finally the ever “dodging” reclusive Tiger with full evidence to support that one was just ahead of me but……

Majestic Elephant ride at leisurely Corbett

So take a Jeep Safari, Canter safari or the majestic Elephant Safari, keep your eyes and ears open and remember a day without “sighting a Tiger” is equally memorable.