Wanderlust is more than just a word. It is an expression that calls out the inner most explorer that we all have inside us, wallowing in the depths of our heart. Some people find adventure in it, other people go out to seek luxury. Whatever be the reason, touring and seeking different places to travel is a joy in its own. Lots of people get inspired while traveling; some even find solace in roaming around the world trying to redefine their purpose of existence. All of this is possible when you succumb to your wanderlust and give in to its natural calling for traveling.
But to know the journey and its essentials is the next big task before getting out of the house. That’s where FABgetaways, a company specializing in personally customized travel options for its customers, comes into the picture. It is India’s first ever members-only luxury travel platform that enables sheer indulgence at the best prices. The members enjoy a lowest price guarantee on all deals made available by the company with VIP inclusions and smoothly assured hassle-free travel experience. All from the booking process to the end of the getaway. Time to read further its dynamics featured in this interview with Mr. Raaj Bajaj, CEO of FABgetaways:
What is your vision behind your startup? Tell us how the idea came about.
At FABgetaways, our goal is to make luxury travel more affordable and experiential across the globe.
Having always been wanting to start-up, my key involvement in the E-Cell at IIM Shillong fueled the idea to make that happen. Having studied the Industry, it was clear to me that ‘Affordable Luxury Travel’ was still an untapped segment in the country. This led to us going live in April 2018 with FABgetaways.
What services/products/solutions do you offer?
At FABgetaways our core offering is ‘luxury travel deals’ from leading Boutique, 4 & 5 Star
Hotels and Resorts all across the globe. We work directly with our partners to curate exclusive offers for our website with the aim of marketing their property and distributing it to the right audience, which are the members on our platform. Currently we have over 1.3 lac members from India, Singapore and UAE who have had access to deals from over 400 Hotel partners. What separates us from the rest is that all our deals come with:
1) The best price guarantee
2) Complimentary VIP Inclusions
What were the challenges you faced during the inception of your startup?
One of the major challenges was to get the right core team, something very essential when you are starting up. Besides this, we also didn’t have a website initially and had to pitch our offerings to hotel partners without one which made it quite exacting. Resource and time allocation also proved to be a challenge because we didn’t want to do too much or go too slow on anything during the development
stage. The initial 6 months, from concept to roll-out, was a very interesting yet challenging period for us.
Is your company bootstrapped or have you received funding or do you plan on approaching investors?
We are seed funded. However, we are looking at raising funds this year.
As the founder/CEO, what is your opinion on the current landscape of startup culture in India?
I believe it is the best it has ever been. The number of startups and the pace at which we see them scale from 0 to 100 is tremendous. In fact, it is something that the Indian startup ecosystem had not seen much in the past. Having said that, there is a need for more individuals to step up, take risks and go all out for what they believe in. As a nation, we need to be more willing to take risks as it is a quality that does not come naturally to a lot of Indians.
According to you, how important is it to be updated with technology as per your industry sector?
It is tremendously important. For that matter, in today’s world, you can’t ignore technology no matter which sector you are in. For us, the entire process, from planning a trip to consuming content to sharing reviews and more, has changed due to the infusion of technology.
How do you strategize on scaling your company in the future?
We are very excited about our growth plan of penetrating into other markets this year. Besides this, we have been seeing tremendous opportunities and growth in not just the metros and Tier-1 cities but a lot of other small towns across the country as well. We would be taking more partner engagement activities in order to make our platform a close-knit one for our members and to provide them with more opportunities to enjoy their holiday at the best prices.
