TRAVELCHECK, a new local OTA, hopes to break into the South African market. The start-up, which was launched on June 5 in Cape Town, says
its service is different to OTA giant Travelstart, in that it offers a dynamic packaging facility where clients can book hotels and flights in one seamless booking flow. Ceo of Travelcheck,
Odette Faling, explains clients have complete flexibility to bundle products themselves. Odette says the startup will not be competing with Travelstart as it is positioning itself as a “packaging brand”. “The user journey that we are promoting is for clients to save through packaging flights and hotels dynamically,” she explains. The technology will also allow guests to save between 10% and 20% when booking packages online. Travelcheck’s product range includes full service, LCC and charter flight services as well as a hotel inventory offering of over 300 000 local and international properties. Odette brings 15 years of ecommerce experience to the Travelcheck team, including at Travelstart. She worked in various roles at Travelstart during this time, ending her
tenure at the company as its chief commercial officer. She believes there is a gap in the local OTA market for a company that offers strong online products backed by customer service excellence. As a result, Travelcheck offers a 24/7 customer service line and permits clients to choose whether they would like to book online or telephonically. The website also offers a chatbot service and is instantly contactable through Facebook Messenger. While the OTA is currently aimed at the business-to-consumer market, Odette has hinted that a business-tobusiness product offering is in the pipeline.
