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Start-up Travlu.com, an upstart in the online hotel booking industry

03-14-2016 01:08 PM CET | Tourism, Cars, Traffic

Press release from: travlu

Story of Travlu.com

Story of Travlu.com

The digital era descended on United States a decade ago. Slowly but steadily, it became a matter of not choice but compulsion for hotels to look beyond print and television for advertising. Yet, lack of awareness and resources ensured that smaller players were held back, while the big names bolted forward with myriad ways in online marketing.

When Amit Agarwal was flying as a commercial pilot, he never dreamed that he would become the founder of an online hotel booking business. True, he had always been drawn to computers and had a natural talent for programming, but making the switch from pilot to Internet entrepreneur was quite a leap.

Agarwal was born in historic Jaipur, the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Rajasthan in Northern India, popularly known as Pink City, as every building within the walled historic center is painted pink. Growing up, he absolutely loved table tennis. He went to Seedling Public School, where he was drawn to science and computers. He later received diplomas for courses completed in computers and web technology from STG Computer Institute in Jaipur.

In addition to his love for computers, Agarwal also had a dream to become a pilot. He attended Embry Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Florida, and graduated with honors, receiving his private pilot license in 2006 and Bachelors of Science in Technical Management & Associates in Professional Aeronautics in 2009.

By then, the digital age was booming.

The consequence of his courageous decision to leave his comfort zone as a pilot and pursue a career in computer technology resulted in the upstart start-up Travlu.com, which has raised quite a few eyebrows because of its innovative approach to the online hotel business industry.

Individual hoteliers no match for the big guys

When the digital age took hold in the U.S. a decade ago, it became apparent that the hotel industry, in addition to its traditional print and television advertising approach, needed to get on board and invest in the Internet. With all of the big hotel franchises’ resources, it seemed that small and medium-size accommodation businesses would be left behind in this new frontier.
Agarwal saw that the industry was still relatively new and understood that very soon there would be a growing need for all hoteliers to have an online presence. In 2009, Agarwal founded Travlu.com, a cloud-based hotel booking platform, based out of Orlando, Florida.

“I wanted to make digital marketing easy and accessible for small hotels that didn’t have the exposure, knowledge or funds for it,” Agarwal said. “It wasn’t just about money. I really wanted to help them,” he explained.
At the beginning, Agarwal and his team focused on Florida as its main market, as Orlando alone hosts 100 million tourists every year. It soon became obvious, when researching the available budget hotel space, just how big the potential for expansion was. People from all over the world were booking hotel rooms online.

“I saw that it was becoming very easy for big hotels to tie up with the portals and go online. I realized that it could be a simple, easy, and inexpensive way for smaller hotel owners to let travelers also learn about and experience their brand, alongside of the well-established big guys,” Agarwal stated.
Their very first hotel client was Days Inn International Drive in Orlando Florida.Owner Jay Patel said, “The Travlu.com system has breadth and depth. All the platforms we’ve tried previously proved to be inefficient and unproductive. Amit was already helping me at my hotel with some IT work, when he mentioned Travlu.com. I’ve been a loyal customer ever since.”
Why this start-up is such an upstart

It became apparent very quickly, that the market was going to get very competitive very quickly. The team needed to do something innovative to make them stand out from what was becoming a very crowded playing field. The answer was right in front of them.

“Most other online booking companies simply make the reservations for hotel owners,” Agarwal said. “I realized that they were not marketing their clients as effectively as they could. As a result, we created a reservation and marketing system that provides very smart features that no other online booking companies offer.”

Travlu.com offers unparalleled services to its clients. As a one-stop shop for marketing their brand globally, reducing their reservation cost & enhancing their online presence. Travlu.com provides its clients with a dedicated online booking platform custom-designed for each of their hotel clients for desktops, tablets, and smart phones with content management system & 24/7 customer support. Travlu.com also provides each of its clients with a dedicated marketing team to improve the hotel’s online presence and increase traffic and direct bookings.

Travlu.com’s partners pay no membership fees. Instead, partners pay a very small commission fee only after a reservation is booked and confirmed. Our service charges are lowest in the market compared to any online booking services.

“No other online booking company comes near to offering the promotional marketing that we do,” Agarwal said. “We work with each of our clients individually, get to know their business, and design a web portfolio & social media channels that gives them their very own branding. They love it.”

The ka-ching of numbers

Agarwal knew that the market opportunity for Travlu.com was enormous. True to his vision, total revenues in 2015 increased significantly. In the last three quarters, Travlu.com has grown 50% per quarter in sales revenue generated for hotels and Travlu.com. It is now being used by hotels all over United States with over 300 hotel clients. This number is growing exponentially every day.
Some of their newest client properties include Lexington Indianapolis, Best Western Louisville, Country Inn & Suites Tampa, and Home Away Suites Oklahoma, as well as properties in Arizona, Texas, Philadelphia, California and many more.

Traveling the hotel convention route proves successful
The Travlu.com team realized that the only way they could continue to grow and stay competitive was to find a way to reach the maximum number of small and medium hotel property owners.
In 2012, they got an opportunity to be a part of the Asian American Hotel Owners Association (AAHOA) Trade show, the world’s largest international hotel convention boasting more than 15,000 hotel owners as members.

“I decided to attend the AAHOA Convention. I didn’t have a booth or even any marketing material with me,” Agarwal said. “I had no idea how and where to start or how to talk to hotel owners,” he explained. “I decided I had to just network with the people there and meet hotel owners. With this rather stream-lined approached, I was able to sign up 30 hotels!”

Travlu.com will be exhibiting at this year’s annual AAHOA Convention & Trade Show, March 29 – April 1, at the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center in Nashville, Tennessee. This time they will have a fully-interactive exhibition booth and plenty of marketing materials on hand. Their goal is to sign up at least 700 new hotels at the convention.

Attending hotel conventions allows the Travlu.com team to target hoteliers from all over United States under one roof. The team has also focused on alliances with partners who have an existing relationship with a large number of hoteliers, and therefore, can be quickly reached. This strategy has helped the company gain good traction in several key markets.

Travlu.com’s Mission

“We feel every small and mid-sized hotel needs to have an online presence. Travlu.com is committed to enabling this to occur while making it as easy and smooth as possible for them,” said Agarwal. “It’s really a win-win situation for everyone involved and our team and our customers very are excited to see what the future holds. We are looking forward to launch our brand globally and work with hotels all around the world”

Hotel Booking Online Travel Agent. Travlu.com , an orlando based company providing reservations for hotels all around United States

Travlu.com ( DHD Hospetality Services Inc )

8815 Conroy Windermere Rd, Suite 537, Orlando, Florida 32835

Amit Agarwal - +1 407 403 5616. Amit@dhdhospitality.com

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