travelikoÊis aÊbooking platform thatÊwas conceived by a group of hospitality professionals who saw hotel profits squeezed due to the high commissions paid to the dominant global OTAs, which ultimately had a negative impact on the quality of services provided to guests. They wanted to give power back to the hotels so that they, in turn, could increase the overall satisfaction of their customers. It has been tested and developed over three years to make sure it serves today’s savvy, socially conscious travellers.
traveliko is a socially conscious hotel booking platform, an independent alternative to the giant online corporations that have transformed the industry landscape in recent years. It is designed to give more freedom to hotels and to offer travellers a much more empowering experience.
In order to reshape the relationship between customers, agencies and hotels, the traveliko team works directly with hotel partners and makes sure the website always offers guests the best available rate. The agency takes a flat 10 per centÊcommission from the hotel, which is up to 50 per centÊless than most OTAs currently dominating the market. It also donates 20 per centÊof the net commission earned on each booking to project-oriented charities selected by users in the countries they plan to visit. The system tracks these contributions to charity, awarding Karma Points to users every time they book and donate. Karma Points are also earned through referrals, reviews and other online engagement.
ÒWhen you book through traveliko, you can allocate a donation to the type of charity you feel most strongly about Ð animals, people or the planet,” said Martijn Dekker, co-founder and Chief Financial Officer.Ê”We partner with organizations such as Socialgiver in Thailand, as well as global charities including UNICEF and WWF to help fund projects we can commit to and report back on to our customers.”
In many ways traveliko is a natural evolution for the hotel industry as it takes a similar approach to other major consumer sectors such as food, health and banking, which have diversified beyond mass production and standardized product and service distribution. As is the case with other disruptors in these parallel industries, traveliko moves away from a white label approach to travel in order to offer a range of new features and bespoke opportunities to its partners and customers. The engine is optimised for a wide range of hospitality services beyond room bookings to give travellers more choice and flexibility, as well as more independence.
ÒSurprisingly few customers are aware that the hotels they see on the first page of a search when using one of the big OTAs, are not necessarily the hotels that would fit them best,” said Bjorn Harvold, Chief Technical Officer.Ê”They are simply hotels that are commercially more interesting and more profitable to the OTA. traveliko breaks that paradigm by providing a non-partial map display with all the hotels equally visible and categorised by filters that the user controls. It’s mobile friendly, easy to use and offers a truly tailored booking experience.”
Supporting this customer-centric approach, the business is based on a partnership model that aims to save hotels money on commission so they can focus on giving their customers a better experience. has already signed agreements with a number of international hospitality companies, including Absolute Hotel Services, Centara Hotels and Resorts, Dusit International and Red Planet Hotels, as well a number of smaller chains and independent hotels in Thailand, Sri Lanka and the Maldives.
ÒIf all the existing online travel agents gave back 20 per centÊof their commissions to worthy causes, the travel industry could make an enormous difference in terms of helping the world’s underprivileged people, protecting endangered animals and preserving the natural environment,” said Natalie Glebova, traveliko’s brand ambassador and a former Miss Universe said.Ê”With traveliko you can travel with your heart.Ó
By Yann Gouriou
Yann Gouriou is the co-founder and Chief Operations Officer of traveliko. Yann is also the founder and Chief Executive Officer of Unicorn HotelsÊand Resorts -Êan Asia-based boutique hotel management company offering existing and soon-to-launch hotels and restaurants an empowering, flexible, tailor-made alternative to global hotel management brands. You can email yann@unicornh.com or visit www.unicornh.com. Hotels looking to join traveliko can visit www.hotelier.traveliko.com.
