- India’s biggest travel aggregator MakeMyTrip today announced a major new vertical business – It will start food delivery from 5-star hotels.
India’s biggest travel aggregator MakeMyTrip today announced a major new vertical business – It will start food delivery from 5-star hotels.
MakeMyTrip (MMT) has jumped into food distribution-a company that remains hot even during the lockdown of coronavirus. The company has in partnership with luxury and premium hotel chains and independent properties across India’s cities rolled out an online gourmet delivery service.
MMT’s announcement comes at a time when travel and hotel aggregators are struggling as bookings come down to zero because of the coronavirus pandemic. Worldwide flights are suspended, and hotels are converted into quarantine centers, and travel is a far off thought in people’s minds.
But it will now struggle in a space now dominated by Zomato and Swiggy. The announcement by MMT comes just days after Swiggy announced its partnership with hotels in Marriott – “Marriott on Wheels.”
Meanwhile, in the food section, hospitality unicorn OYO is experimenting too. OYO is looking to enter the ready-to-eat food sector, which is an addition to its existing cloud kitchen network, according to reports.
“As the world adopts life-changing steps to adapt to the new order, consumers are searching for solutions that will support them in a healthy and hygienic atmosphere with familiar experiences. Our new online gourmet delivery project is a step towards ensuring food lovers continue to enjoy their fine dining experiences in town by taking their eating-out trips to their homes, “said Deepak Tuli, MakeMyTrip’s Chief Business Officer, Emerging Businesses.
The service is currently available in Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, and Bangalore where MMT has been collaborating with Roseate and JW Marriott.
“The product is available on the homepage under the heading ‘Meals & Offers’ and is being carried out in phases on the website for android and iOS. The firm plans to extend the new offer to other cities including Pune, Jaipur, Kolkata, and others in the coming weeks, “the company said.
Group Chairman Deep Kalra and CEO Rajesh Magow had announced earlier that they will not receive their wages from April 2020. Cancelations had begun to pour in at MMT as coronavirus news began in China. The company has not charged any fees for handling requests for cancelation or rescheduling of domestic and international flights until April 30.
Recently the top bosses said in a letter to their 3,450 staff that they will “rebound, recover and prosper again.”
Over the years, MakeMyTrip has faced and endured many threats – the dot-com crash, 9/11 attacks, SARS outbreak, the financial crisis of 2008-09, and the problems facing the Indian aviation market in 2012 and 2019. “But this challenge is nothing like anything before, for our generation,” the bosses wrote in the report.
