Air travel is inherently stressful, want to reduce passenger anxiety: Hoi's Dhruv Godara

Time of India

5 hours ago

Hoi
was started as a travel-tech platform to revolutionise the airport experience for modern travellers. Launched initially in 2018 as a B2B platform, it evolved into a comprehensive airport concierge and was relaunched in 2023 with enhanced features. Hoi played a pivotal role during the COVID-19 pandemic by enabling contactless airport operations through an omnichannel presence spanning mobile app, website, and airport kiosks/tablets.
In a conversation with ET Digital, Dhruv Godora, Deputy CEO, Hoi says since its relaunch, the platform has offered a range of smart solutions designed to ensure seamless and stress-free journeys. Currently operational across major airports across India, including Delhi, Goa, and Hyderabad, Godora says the platform transforms traditional airport processes into efficient
digital
experiences. Edited excerpts.
The Economic Times: What is the idea behind starting Hoi and when did it start?
Dhruv Godara (DG):
At Hoi, we are trying to aggregate door-to-door services for an air traveller's journey meaningfully. Starting first with digitalising services at the airport and then radially spanning on both sides of it — from planning your travels, to the subsequent booking of travel, and guiding you on how to get to the airport, getting you to the airport, and then your experience beyond.
It's about enhancing the traveller's experience from their point of departure to their destination, aggregating the entire value chain and putting it onto a single platform. It essentially becomes a super app for air travellers, which is our core vision.
This comes from the insight that
air travel
is inherently stressful. You need to arrive hours in advance, go through security checks–it's not like regular travel. We saw an opportunity in the increasing digital penetration to reduce passenger anxiety by offering them a platform that simplifies their journey.
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Currently operational across major airports across India, including Delhi, Goa, and Hyderabad, Godora says the platform transforms traditional airport processes into efficient digital experiences.
Once passengers engage with the platform, it reduces stress, making them more open to exploring other services. For example, we can offer e-commerce features like pre-ordering items, making it more comfortable to commerce at the airport.
Our approach creates value for airports, the air travel ecosystem, and passengers alike.
We launched our first product in 2020, just before the COVID wave hit. That period brought an immediate need for digitised commerce at airports, and we adapted our concept accordingly.
ET: What do you mean by commerce within the airport?
DG:
Commerce within the airport includes services like food and beverages (F&B) and booking COVID tests. These were powered by Hoi during that time.
Luckily, we had already onboarded the
GMR Group
of airports as a client, and we offered to digitise everything for them without affecting the commerce at the airport. Passengers could order F&B on the platform and collect it from outlets without direct contact. This started generating significant volume, with about 1,500–1,600 orders per day initially. Now we handle upwards of 2,000–3,000 orders daily across categories.
ET: How did the focus expand beyond the airport?
DG:
After digitising airport services, we realised the need to extend our services beyond the airport. To create a larger impact, we started focusing on engaging travellers before they even arrive at the airport.
This includes helping users plan itineraries, then subsequently book those itineraries, track flights, and navigate to the airport. Slowly and steadily, we are aggregating services across the entire travel spectrum.
For planning itineraries, we are starting with flights and gradually expanding to travel planning. For example, if someone is travelling to Dubai, we will guide them on attractions and help plan their journey.
By the end of the year, we aim to introduce the first AI-powered travel agent in the industry. Users will simply share their destination, budget, and dates, and the platform will generate a customised itinerary, allowing them to pick, choose, and book everything directly. We will source supply from various providers, but the core engine and intelligence is ours.
ET: So, you run on the premise that airport services are fragmented and want to consolidate all of it into an app. What other technological aspects are you working on for airports like F&B?
DG:
Almost everything at the airport can be digitalised. Beyond F&B and retail, we are working on features like guided navigation within the airport. For example, users can find the nearest lounge or restroom through smart maps on our platform.
Additionally, we are aggregating cab services and other transport options onto the platform, which is expected to roll out in the next quarter.
ET: What are the challenges in expanding to new airports and what is your relationship with the GMR Group?
DG:
Each airport has its own set of systems and infrastructure. Integration is a challenge as we need to work with their flight operations database, IT infrastructure, and other unique setups.
For instance, GMR Group provides access to Delhi, Hyderabad, and New Goa airports, and in the future, it will be Nagpur and Visakhapatnam as well, but integrating with other airports requires significant effort to align with their infrastructure and systems.
GMR Group is our client. They onboarded us in 2020 to manage their passenger experience platform, and we have been working with them since.
ET: How has Hoi funded its operation and what is the tech that powers the platform?
DG:
We are a bootstrapped company. Our initial contract with GMR Group gave us the runway to develop and deliver our services.
Hoi operates on a microservices architecture, making it modular and scalable. We launch each vertical as a microservice, allowing seamless cross-platform integration. Our platform can power kiosks, mobile apps, and third-party websites, enabling flexibility and distribution. For example, we have partnered with
OTA
platforms to extend our reach.
ET: What are your user numbers and engagements? How has the app performed?
DG:
Currently, we have a user base of over 1.5 million, with 1.3 lakh app downloads. While I can't comment on transaction numbers, these figures highlight the platform's traction.
You can access the services through our partners, the airport kiosk, or the airport's website, besides the app. It's all a single backend in the background.
ET: How do you address the challenges of entering the aviation sector? What challenges do you face when expanding to new places like Nagpur and Visakhapatnam and what kind of information do you need from airports?
DG:
In the aviation industry, there are strict regulations, and acquiring airport partnerships requires engaging in formal bidding processes and conducting extensive due diligence.
When it comes to expansion, it's largely about integrations. Each airport has its own systems, and we need to integrate with multiple components like their operational database to access flight schedules. We also work with the airport's IT infrastructure, which varies significantly.
For example, some airports are not fully digitalised. We first need to assess their digital readiness and then integrate our platform with their systems. This process can be time-consuming, as maintaining these integrations is equally challenging.
The information that we need from airports includes flight-related data points such as boarding gates and schedule updates, which are typically available only through the airport or airlines.
Additionally, for e-commerce aggregation at airports, we need to push passenger orders to the airport's IT system so they can track and report them. All these integrations take considerable time to implement effectively.
ET: Why should users choose Hoi over others? You also mentioned a travel itinerary as a future prospect. What other plans do you have?
DG:
Hoi integrates all travel-related services into one app, eliminating the need for users to switch between multiple platforms. This convenience and meaningful aggregation set us apart.
Beyond the travel itinerary, our future services include, flight and hotel bookings, aggregating car providers to facilitate airport transfers, enhancing services within the airport, such as lounge access, meeting resources, and enabling Wi-Fi connections through the platform and post-arrival services, like providing smart baggage trackers that allow real-time tracking of luggage.
We're also working on partnerships for lost and found solutions, similar to item-tracking technologies like Apple's AirTags.
ET: What are some best practices from international airports that you'd like to replicate in India?
DG:
Some of the best airports globally, like Singapore's Changi, are digitally advanced. They aggregate all their services in a user-friendly and discoverable way. For instance, Changi and Schiphol excel at digital aggregation, where passengers can easily find and access services. Zurich Airport also stands out in making passenger services seamlessly accessible.
Our aim is to replicate this approach for Indian airports, making services digitally aggregated, easily discoverable, and eventually scaling this model internationally.