EaseMyTrip

EaseMyTrip is an Indian online travel company, headquartered in New Delhi. It was founded in 2008 by Nishant Pitti, Rikant Pitti, and Prashant Pitti. The company provides hotel bookings, air tickets, domestic and international holiday packages, bus bookings, and white-label services. EaseMyTrip has overseas offices in Singapore, UAE and Thailand with country-specific websites for UAE, UK and Thailand.

History
The idea for EaseMyTrip came when the brothers, Nishant Pitti and Rikant Pitti used to book air tickets for their father's frequent business trips, and saved money in the booking process. Initially based out of their home garage as a travel agency, the duo lost all of the initial investment within the first three months. Later on, references from family and friends helped and a major turnaround came when an airline noticed multiple bookings coming from a single email account and contacted the Pitti brothers to become its travel partner.

In 2019, EaseMyTrip had a network of more than 42,000 travel agents, 1,200 franchise outlets, 640 white-label solutions, and around 1,600 distributors.

In 2019, EaseMyTrip expanded its operations to international markets such as UAE, UK, US, Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand.

In March 2021, EaseMyTrip went public with an initial public offering.

In June 2021, EaseMyTrip collaborated with Oyo Rooms, Airbnb, and Yatra to form the Confederation of Hospitality, Technology and Tourism Industry (CHATT), an industry body for the tourism sector of India.

In September 2021, it became a unicorn after its market capitalization crossed $1 billion. In December 2021, the organization hired Vijay Raaz and Varun Sharma as their brand ambassadors.

EaseMyTrip acquired Spree Hospitality, a hospital management company established in 2011 by Keshab Baljee, for an undisclosed amount. The company announced the acquisition of travel marketplace Traviate in October 2021. EaseMyTrip acquired YoloBus, an intercity mobility platform, in 2021.

Services
In January 2020, EaseMyTrip announced it will allow users to book flight tickets via WhatsApp. Users can activate the autonomous interactive program by sending a message and the booking bot will guide users through the end-to-end process.

In 2021, the company launched another feature where if a person can show a waiting ticket in a train, they would get a discount from Easemytrip on flights.

IPO
In 2019, it filed for a ₹510 crore ($72.13 million) initial public offering (IPO) with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), making them the first online travel agency to be listed on the Indian stock exchanges. The issue was managed by Axis Bank and JM Financial. It opened for subscription on 8 March 2021 and was listed on the stock market on 19 March 2021. The IPO was subscribed over 159 times.

HSBC Global Investment Funds, Tata Trustee Company, Aditya Birla Sunlife Insurance Company, Nomura, Sundaram Mutual Fund, Nippon Life India Trustee Company, and Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance Company were its anchor investors.

Philanthropy
In 2018, the employees of the company contributed a day's salary for the relief measures of Kerala floods.

During the second wave of the COVID-19 oxygen crisis in India, the company donated 550 oxygen concentrators and launched a refund policy that promised full refund for ticket cancellations, including the costs deducted by the airlines.

Controversies
On March 8, 2022, a consumer technology firm from Pune called udChalo filed a trademark infringement case against EaseMyTrip. Previously, MakeMyTrip also moved to Delhi High Court against the company and Google both for Trademark violation.

Collaborations

 * Vodafone Idea partners EaseMyTrip to offer travel services on Vi App, Dec 23.
 * EaseMyTrip, along with Jeewani Group, is partnering with Radisson Hotel for the development of a 150-room hotel in Ayodhya City, Feb 24.
 * EaseMyTrip partners with Zaggle to streamline expense management solutions, Feb 24.
 * EaseMyTrip has collaborated with Zoomcar to provide pre-booked and on-demand self-drive cars in India, Mar 24.
 * EaseMy Trip partners with Adani Digital Labs to offer duty-free shopping benefits, Apr 24.

Recognition

 * Best Travel Booking Site - SATTE (2020)
 * Best Travel Booking App/Website - Times Travel Awards (2019)
 * Enterprise Excellence of the Year - 24MRC Network (2016)
 * Best Online Travel Company of the Year - Worldwide Achievers Business Leadership Awards (2013)