As the Founders of a young travel tech start-up there could not be a more exciting time for us. Yes, that’s right! As COVID-19 swept through the world and brought everything on its way to a screeching halt, we too were left battered and bruised, just like any other travel company in the world. However, #HopeIsHere now and so is our mojo!

The past few months offered us enough and more time to revisit our original dream of creating a tech-led platform for the modern traveller. With the virus confining almost all of humanity to their homes, the urge to travel and set on new expeditions is more than ever before. We realise our job as a travel company is to cater to this desire keeping in mind three key elements: safety, cost and proximity, considering people will first venture out closer to their homes and get comfortable over time to restart longer vacations. Hence, sprung to life India’s first ever Travel Deals Club, PYT Deals.

Introducing #PYTDeals

PYT Deals is the first in line amongst a slew of product releases planned over the next couple of months and also the closest to our hearts. This is the first time Pickyourtrail is moving away from a full-stack holiday planning experience to a transactional e-commerce platform. Select the best deal, enter your details, and you’re all set to take off on that long awaited post-lockdown break. It’s that simple! You can unlock deals in the city of your choice before anyone else in the world and make hassle-free changes to your travel plans. The exclusive membership ensures the best deals land straight into your inbox before the rest of the world, thus giving you an edge over other deal-hunters. The idea is to create an exclusive online community of travel deals and hacks where seasoned travellers can get early access to heavily discounted holidays, secret deals & offers, and airfare hacks among others.

We’re launching the first category, Staycations by PYT Deals, on June 8, 2020 for Telegram and Facebook users across seven cities, including New Delhi, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai and Pune. Though Staycation is still a relatively new travel concept in many countries including India, it stands more relevant today than ever before for travellers around the globe. With safety becoming more of a need than necessity, more and more travellers are adopting this new mode of vacation, which does not involve long travelling, costs a lot less, and cuts out the time and stress of planning a holiday and allows you to enjoy your break in a controllable environment. When we spoke to travellers to understand their expectations, one key thing that emerged was their concerns regarding hygiene standards at properties. Keeping that in mind, we have carefully curated a list of handpicked properties that have put in place the best in class safety procedures. While mobile check-ins, cashless payments and regular temperature checks of hotel staff are becoming a norm, many properties are also moving towards hospital grade disinfectants and taking several other measures like using electrostatic sprayers in high-touch areas, ensuring use of Arogya Setu app by all guests, and promoting in-room dining among others. Read more about Staycations.

The world, as we knew it, has been fundamentally changed by COVID19. But like every other pandemic, this too shall pass. What the world needs more than ever today is a holiday! We hope you’ll #UnlockSafeTravel and set out on new adventures as we step into a new post-lockdown era. Keep travelling and falling in love yet again with places new or old, because as they say, one trip is never enough! Watch this space for updates on our new product releases in the coming weeks.

Wish you safe travels!

Love,

Hari & Srinath