Offline traffic to hotels is still a gem and most hotel and accommodation owners don’t see the need for digital platforms like Jumia Travel to increase their bookings.
The discounts and sales commissions also scare them away but Jumia Travel’s latest push to go for offline customers is a major push to have the hotel operators depend on them.
Jumia Travel has acquired physical space in response to a market segment yet to adapt to the growing online trend. The firm says the offline presence is expected to lead the largely web-based company in gaining greater share of the local market still dependant on conventional mortar and brick business.
Jumia Travel’s offline presence is meant to appeal to the traveler still wary or not conversant with the internet of things, so to say. However, there is still a catch for Jumia Travel. Hotel operators want to use the platform but they don’t like Jumia’s extra push to low prices.
A number of hotels operate on a cash-basis and believe Jumia Travel is slow to remit money to them they therefore tell their customers to book online but pay in at the reception. Jumia Travel needs to fix that.