Online travel agency Travelcheck launched in Cape Town last night. A privately funded venture that gives customers discounts on flights, hotels and activities by offering bundled rates, the online booking platform connects travellers with all the major airlines and over 300 000 hotels around the world.
According to Travelcheck CEO Odette Faling, the site’s dynamic packages feature differentiates it from other online booking Web sites because it allows users to custom-create their holidays.
“Travellers can save up to 25% by booking flights and hotels in a bundle rather than reserving these components separately. You no longer have to spend hours checking different Web sites and platforms; we’ve got it all in one place.”
Speaking to ITWeb on the sidelines of the launch event, Faling explained that the dynamic aspect of the journey, coupled with smart algorithms, will eventually allow the team to build personalised packages and essentially tell travellers where they want to go based on their previous booking preferences.
Some features available on Travelcheck include ‘Quick Share’, which allows a customer to seamlessly share their itinerary and prices via third-party messaging apps like WhatsApp. So if planning a trip with friends or a partner, it becomes easier to share information with them directly from the search results page.
The ‘Mix & Match’ functionality is also a game-changer, according to Faling, as travellers can book more than one airline in the same ticket without having to book different legs of the trip separately.
For example, travellers can book a return trip from Cape Town to London flying British Airways one way and returning on Turkish Airlines in a single flow, without having to visit different Web sites.
Partnering with various third-parties, Travelcheck also offers ancillaries like lost luggage insurance, cancellation and refund options, and flight ticket amendments. The brand’s customer service agents are available during business hours, with after-hours support also available to help travellers with urgent queries or reservations.
Dynamic packages and bundled bookings have been available to travellers in more developed markets for a while and have helped these travellers save time and money, concluded Faling. “We’re enthusiastic about being the first to bring this technology to South Africa.”
Check out Travelcheck at @Travelcheck_southafrica on Instagram, or @TravelcheckSouthAfrica on Facebook.
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