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TRAVELWALLA, taking cues from the root word ‘walla’ which means specialist, was officially unveiled today at a launch ceremony in Kuala Lumpur.
The start-up, founded by Mohammed Amin Sidek, who is also CEO, has lofty ambitions to overhaul the domestic travelling experience for both consumers and industry partners.
It is the first Malaysian OTP platform, similar to sites you might already have been familiar with like Traveloka (Indonesia), Booking.com (Dutch) or Agoda (Singapore).
Conceptualised in 2021 – amid the pandemic – Travelwalla was developed to strengthen the local tourism industry by reducing the number of commissions paid to agencies and creating more focused, educational destination marketing content.
“We wanted to create and craft something that benefits every stakeholder involved in tourism. In the tourism industry, typically there is the hotelier, then middle management and finally, there is the consumer.
"More often than not, the approach has always been how do I make revenue while offering consumers the lowest price possible,” Amin said at the press conference yesterday.
This homegrown online travel booking platform is the pioneer of a new travel trend where empowerment is given back to travel industry partners. It eschews an over-reliance on third-party commission-driven sites, all while offering a scalable travel experience for the end consumer.
“OTP platforms were a fun, fantastic solution for businesses but it took away a lot of control from hoteliers. The hoteliers over a period of time became dependent on sales driven by agents and these platforms. This is a global problem, and not necessarily just in Malaysia,” he added.
Amin defined that Travelwalla intends to tailor travel solutions that provide complete autonomy and empowerment for both industry partners and consumers.
“We are positioning ourselves as an alternative to direct booking platforms. We are not calling ourselves an OTA and we never intend to become an online travel agency,” he remarked.
Consumers can expect more competitive and affordable rates compared to other booking platforms. The vast inventory and partnerships the platform has already made allow access to multiple hotels and transportation on a single platform.
The app also promises ease of access and convenience such as allowing users to plan their trips first and pay later. Other than that, loyalty programmes like a cashback scheme will be carried out to ensure repeat customers and reduce drop-off or bounce rates.
When asked if Travelwalla intends to turn into a super-app, Amin commented that “we are not aiming to become a super-app, but if the journey we are on turns us into a super-app, we will accept that title."
He added, "Food deliveries are not in our pipeline as it only benefits users and service providers. The merchant loses out on margins due to high commissions. We only embark on ventures that will benefit all stakeholders concerned.
“Travelwalla was conceptualised to drive industry change, both for players within the travel ecosystem and consumers. We imagined a solution that is intuitive and scalable, while offering more options for users,” said Amin. – The Vibes, November 3, 2022
