US-based RateHawk which offers booking of hotels, air tickets, transfers and other travel-related services for professionals is on an expansion spree. Recently Victoria Vlasenko, Senior Sales Manager, Asia Pacific Region, RateHawk, visited Mumbai to study the potential of the Indian travel and tourism market.
While speaking exclusively to TravelBiz Monitor, Vlasenko said that RateHawk is making rapid strides since its inception in 2016. The company has made a strong presence in Europe, the Middle East, Latin America. “When I joined the company in 2019 there were only 800 employees, today, our staff strength is 2600 across the world. We have offices in Warsaw, London, Milan, Dubai and other destinations,” she said.
Talking about priority, Vlasenko said that their focus is on expansion and localisation of products. “We are working with the big players in the market but realised that it is also important to work with mid-size and small companies (travel agencies). Working only with big players is not enough,” she pointed out.
The company also has plans to induct people in Australia and India markets in the third quarter. “My trip is just the beginning in that direction. I am talking to various stakeholders of the Indian tourism industry to ascertain their views. I must say the discussion is very positive and they have shown interest to work with us. I will submit a detailed report to our team, they will analyse it and after that decision will be taken,” explained Vlasenko. She added, “We expect a very good result from this market as India is one of the largest economies in the world. The country has a huge population and the number of travel agencies is also enormous.”
Speaking on trade engagement, Vlasenko said that they participate in all major trade shows across the world. “We also have plans to participate in SATTE,” she revealed.
RateHawk’s main products are hotel bookings, air tickets, transfers and offline car rental. “In our system we have 2.2 million hotels, flights of more than 350 air companies as well as transfers in over 150 countries. Our strength is inventory and technology. We also work through API, and have a dedicated support team who works round the clock,” she pointed out.