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WestBridge Capital, Travelguru to create market leader in India travel services
Travelguru, India’s first Metasearch travel solutions company, offers travelers best price, service

February 1, 2006, Bangalore—WestBridge Capital Partners, India’s largest and most active venture capital fund, announced that it is backing Travelguru, a pioneering, technology-enabled travel company, to build a market leader in India’s online travel market. Customers will be able to book their travel across 300 airlines and 55,000 hotels in India and abroad in a fast, convenient and reliable manner. Started as a Harvard Business School project in 2004, the company now has strong fundamentals and has been working for the past twelve months developing cutting-edge, proprietary travel technology and establishing close partnerships with leading travel suppliers in India. Travelguru’s innovative and patented metasearch technology provides travelers with more travel options at better prices than any other player in this space currently.

Commenting on the buoyancy in India’s travel industry, KP Balaraj, Managing Director, WestBridge, said, “India’s travel industry is expected to be a $32 billion market by 2008. The future of the internet and the manner it will change people’s habits is undoubted – one of the largest gainers from e-commerce is travel, accounting for over 50 per cent of global e-commerce activity. The Indian traveler today is more informed, wants more for less and is constantly looking for value. We believe that the many travel choices and cheaper prices on Travelguru will give consumers the best value for their money.”

Mr. Ashwin Damera, co-founder and CEO of Travelguru, commented, “In a scenario where there are not just multiple airlines but where fare structures are dynamic and focused on making travel affordable, a service of this nature brings all options to the customer. Imagine traveling to Delhi and having to choose from over 100 hotels to stay in. With a service like this, Travelguru simplifies the customers’ decision-making process and adds tremendous value. To cite some global examples, in the US, nearly 50 per cent of all airline tickets sold are sold online, and sites like Expedia and Orbitz sell a major portion of this. Even in China, Ctrip sells nearly half a million hotel room nights a year. Travelguru will replicate the user experience and value proposition of these established sites for the Indian traveler.”

“Having built the foundation for what we believe will emerge as the Google of the travel industry, we are heartened by the interest that our business model has generated amongst potential investors and venture capitalists and the backing of a lead investor like WestBridge is very encouraging for us”, added Ashwin. Adding further, KP Balaraj said, “WestBridge Capital has a strong reputation of partnering with entrepreneurs and management teams to create market leaders in India. We have been very impressed with what the Travelguru team has accomplished to date, and are looking forward to working with them closely to build Travelguru into a market leader in the travel services industry.” Commenting on the key differentiators of Travelguru, Ganesh Rengaswamy, the other co-founder, added, “A single unifying mission led to the genesis of Travelguru – the vision to create a consumer-friendly, technology-led platform to overcome the challenges faced by customers and service providers in a crowded travel marketplace. We already have partnerships with more than 400 hotels across India. Our strategic alliances with several domestic and international airlines have ensured that Travelguru enjoys a key advantage on price and availability and we are adding to this portfolio everyday. By providing rich hotel related content such as details on nearby attractions, hotel photographs, room facilities and distance form airport/railway stations, we will empower customers to make decisions that are right for them.”

Besides being able to book and plan their travel on-line at
www.travelguru.com, travellers can also book by calling the company’s number, +91 - 22 - 4030 4878 (standard charges apply) from anywhere in India. Travelguru’s metasearch technology ensures that travellers get a larger number of permutations and combinations of flights and hotels when compared to other on-line websites. Importantly, Travelguru only provides travelers with flight fares and hotels rooms that are actually available as opposed to throwing up lower fares that are never available. This is closely linked to the company’s ‘4 Mantras’ – Transparency, Choice, Convenience and Savings. Close on the heels of its launch, Travelguru also announced that it had kicked-off an inaugural promotion for consumers who choose to book their travel with Travelguru. An international holiday for two to any one of these happening cities- New York, Paris, London or Singapore and stay in the world's finest hotels-Dorchester, Ritz Carlton or The Four Seasons is on offer as part of the promotion. To enter the promotion, you need to log on to http://www.travelguru.com, register and answer a few interesting questions. You can increase your chances of winning by referring Travelguru to as many people as possible. The offer will be valid till February 15, 2006.

About Travelguru
Travelguru is a pioneering travel solutions company that offers travellers the opportunity to plan their travel in a transparent, hassle-free, quick and smart way. Strategic partnerships and alliances with travel industry leaders give Travelguru the edge as an aggregator of travel services. Backed by next generation, real-time, metasearch technology, Travelguru throws up a wider range of travel options for domestic and outbound international travelers. Promoted by two Harvard Business School alumni with significant travel, technology and corporate experience and a team of experienced professionals from industries such as hospitality, travel & trade, financial services and E-commerce, Travelguru is set to redefine the way India travels. Travelguru can be found on the World Wide Web at www.travelguru.com or can be reached by calling the company’s customer support center, +91 - 22 - 4275 4878 (standard charges apply).

About WestBridge Capital Partners:
WestBridge Capital Partners is a Mauritius-based, leading Indian venture capital fund with approximately $350 million under management. The fund focuses primarily on high growth India domestic services, IT and outsourced services businesses that are leaders in their market segments. WestBridge’s investors include leading university endowments and foundations. The SUN Group is a strategic partner of WestBridge. WestBridge has offices in Silicon Valley and Bangalore.

For more information, visit www.wbcp.com