If there is something you will learn on meeting Dhruv Shringi, CEO of Yatra.com, one of the country’s leading travel portals, it is that he is persistent and not one to stay down. While his friends were busy with college and whatever goes on in the lives of most 18-year-olds, Dhruv Shringi was commited to a cause — to convince his father to sell their plot of land in his native town to fund a chemical manufacturing unit. The venture failed, but Shringi did not lose hope. He went on to study chartered accountancy and later, enrolled for a one-year management programme at INSEAD, London. “Post INSEAD, I tried to raise capital to set up microbreweries in India, but the economy collapsed and 9/11 happened,” recalls Shringi. So he joined Ebookers, Europe’s leading online travel agency, as head of strategy in 2003. It is here that Shringi saw his plans for Yatra shaping up. “My experience in Ebookers gave me a good hand on how to do business,” Shringi, 38, points out.Power to the peopleWhy an online travel company when the Internet wasn’t what it is today and the industry fragmented? “The travel industry was opaque both in terms of availability of content and prices. Travel agents would tell you there are only two flights available to a destination and the consumer had no means offinding out if it was true. My aim was to bring transparency to the industry, not consolidate the market,” Shringi explains. He tells us how his plans for Yatra became a reality after Ebookers was bought over in 2005 and he was laid off. It gave him and colleague Manish Amin (Yatra’s co-founder) the perfect opportunity to start raising funds for their online portal in India and look for venture capitalists.Why Yatra works“We are the only ones to have the loyalty points programme, which cuts across all airlines,” says a confident Shringi. So even if a low-cost carrier in India is not offering reward points, the travel portal will provide the same, and this will be applicable across all its hotels and holidays. Trend spottingTravellers are no longer cost conscious and don’t mind burning a hole in their pockets, and Shringi welcomes the change. “Indians are becoming increasingly adventurous. They are willing to save a bit on the airline front and splurge more on the destination. They are spending more in terms of gaining new experiences and they want to attend cultural events, art shows and take part in soft adventure.” A happy endingWhen there are flight or ticket cancellations, the team comes up with alternatives. “We work with the airlines and try to waive off the cancellation charge, so the customer can come back to us,” he explains. But things aren’t always easy in such a dynamic industry. That’s where Shringi’s experience at INSEAD comes into play. “You have to learn to be adaptive,” he shrugs, admitting that in the last five years, he has become more patient.
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