Avid travellers might say that ‘Travel is the only thing you buy that makes you richer.’ It is absolutely true. While travelling, you meet new people, explore different cultures, experience new things, embark on adventures, and even redefine your meaning of life.
This joyful voyage can also shape you into a better, more well-rounded person as you learn and gain a novel perspective from different places and people. But if you are not good at travel planning, it may lead to more costly and inconvenient vacations, spoiling the best experience of life.
In such a scenario, a person like Poongkodi Jose can be extremely helpful. She is an MBA graduate, and her love for planning vacations encouraged her to launch The Holiday Navigator. Through it, Poongkodi offers the journeying spirits an exciting, immersive, yet inexpensive and stress-free vacation.
In an interview with Insights Success, Poongkodi discussed her passion and efforts to start her business, her journey, and how she is adopting modern technologies to improve the future of travelling.
Please tell us about the saga of The Holiday Navigator since its inception.
The Holiday Navigator was started with a lot of passion and an aim to create a brand that offers affordable and hassle-free vacations. We have achieved that with our sincere efforts and diligence and are confident to continue doing the same. We consider each holiday special and work on it with the same vigour, which has been our strong point. What started as help planning the holidays for families and friends is now a full-time business.
Today, we have created a good customer base, including corporate companies, institutions, and business owners. Although the idea of travel is fun, planning and arranging the same needs meticulous planning, which is not as much fun. We are a team of young individuals who personally love travelling, and so we connect well with our clients’ needs and help make their vacation much more enjoyable.
What was your inspiration behind venturing into the business arena?
Being an MBA graduate, I always wanted to start something of my own but never had clarity on when and how. I love my job and enjoy planning vacations, and as soon as I saw the scope of venturing into it as a business, I took the initiative. After necessary research and planning, I still was not ready somehow, being from a family who was never in the field of business. I had support from my family, which was an added advantage.
Being a young mom, I wanted to be available for my little one even when working, and I knew a regular office going job would not be able to give me the luxury of using my time as I would prefer. As the saying goes, ‘It is easier said than done,’ creating something on your own is lot more challenging, and managing it every day is not easy. After much deliberation, I took the leap of faith and started my company. Today, I know a lot of women in different areas of field, friends and acquaintances who are running successful businesses. I take inspiration from them and make efforts to develop my own business.
What were the initial challenges you had to surmount to ensure The Holiday Navigator’s success rate reached greater heights?
Like every small business, we struggled to reach out to the right kind of clients. Travel and Tourism is a big industry, and there are enough travel agencies, big and small, who give good packages and services. It was challenging to convince clients that even though we are a small company, we can offer good services at even better pricing. Because somehow in our country, less cost is always compared to lesser quality, which is not always true.
Another challenge was although we knew the product, we didn’t know how to market it. Thanks to digital media, things are much better now. Being a woman-run business, I feel it is a challenge to prove every time that I can handle things or say even better than what is expected.
What professional values and qualities do you think your clients value in you and your company the most?
Our clients have always appreciated us for,
- Being transparent and honest – We believe it is good to give the clients certain details which will help them decide on things better, even if it means they learn more and sometimes choose to do it themselves.
- Swift response – We believe the sooner you respond, the easier it is for the clients to decide on things.
- Our Expertise – We plan and arrange things keeping in mind the need of the guests, at the same time give valuable suggestions, to make changes to create a better holiday and
- Our Quality – We never compromise on quality. We choose quality over business any day because otherwise, you will only lose your client, the pillar of your very business.
What USPs highlight The Holiday Navigator’s uniqueness in the industry you are catering to?
Providing quality services is our main USP. Our guests have always lauded us for continuously serving them with the best services every time. We meticulously plan every holiday, so most of our packages are fool-proof except in situations beyond our control. Our clients know that we will always be ready to go that extra mile to ensure things are good or even better. We prepare them in advance for things like weather, local shopping areas etc. This helps them be better prepared for the holiday and enjoy it to the maximum. We provide holiday packages suiting each pocket. We get good deals and offers which always is welcomed by our guests.
As an experienced professional, what would you like to advise budding aspirants willing to enter the business world?
It is always good to do the necessary research before getting into something. It will help you to be prepared and do things better. Starting a business is challenging but not impossible. Along with necessary preparation, one has to be ready for failures. At such times one needs to be motivated and persistent with their efforts. Nothing happens overnight, so patience is a critical factor. Be open to criticism and constantly work towards developing or improving your products or services for your clients. This will help you succeed in the long run.
How do you envision The Holiday Navigator’s operations with the emerging technologies and automated tools revolutionizing the business world by enabling innovations?
Automation and Innovation are a necessary part of our present world of business. Being part of service industry like Travel and Tourism, I will be happy to welcome it with open hands as long as it does not affect the service quality. It will be easier to stay connected with your clients, update them on the status of their bookings, give them a platform to make changes, ask queries, and provide necessary feedback.
It can save time and avoid miscommunication and misunderstanding as everything discussed can be recorded for both parties. At the same time, it might not be suitable for all kinds of clients and a personal human touch is needed in the field of Travel and Tourism.
