With the rising tide in tech-entrepreneurship, e-commerce and online marketing, the Y-Generation and a promising percentage of their X-Forerunners have grown accustomed to running their lives while, literally on the run! The popularity of online shopping in Africa whether for cars, grocery or property, is a reality any traditional entrepreneur cannot afford to ignore.
“Whether for services or products, the supply is literally a-click-away,” says Estelle Verdier, the Managing Director of Jovago East Africa, the fastest growing hotel booking website in Africa. “The digital world is the new market place,” she explains; “just a few years back, trusting your travel plans to a faceless persona would have been thought entirely crazy; we have come a long way and a lot more is lined up in our bid to connect every traveler to the destination in their plan or dream”
In Africa, the concept of online hotel booking is slowly but steadily assimilating into the continent’s culture, “50% of our online bookings come from within Africa while the other half is global. It’s interesting to notice that while investors may want to view Africa as a single unit when rolling out strategies and approach related to Internet Consumer Services, the truth is, every country has unique needs. “For instance we have noticed a huge shift in the need for exhaustive demos between the different regions; countries in the Southern part of Africa seem to be a few steps ahead tech-wise.”
Keeping the Communication Lines Open
The MD points out interaction between hotel management and the company as a major factor contributing to their fast growth, “our communication lines have remained open since the time we signed up our first hotel; our team frequently communicates with our partners on strategies to keep their properties popular in the market” Unlike most of their competitors, Jovago east Africa has set up its headquarters in Nairobi which has given them the advantage of proximity to the partner hotels.
The sales team visits the hotels before listing them so as to give a sincere representation of what’s on the ground, “we try as much as possible to post photos and list descriptions as taken and experienced by our team. What you see, what you book, is what you get”
The company first launched in the country in July 2013 by the 27 year old tech-enthusiast has been instrumental in gaining online visibility for hotels in the most remote of areas. While most booking sites concentrate on popular destinations, Jovago has gone an extra mile to fish out resorts in the middle of “nowhere” Says the MD, “We have resorts in remote places such as Merelani, the mine valleys for the precious Tanzanite, we have hotels in locales like Pangani village where the mighty Pangani River empties into Indian Ocean; places that previously only received guests on referrals.
One of the main challenges has been dealing with a generation of senior hotel management who are not particularly tech-savvy, “although the booking process is supposed to be entirely online, our customer care department still handles a lot of calls just to ensure the link between the hotel and the guest is not broken. Some still list their room availability on a notebook while ideally, everything should be implemented online”
This is however bound to change. “We have come to embrace the learning process by building integrity and a formidable team behind the website,” explains Elizabeth Mbugua, Head of Customer Relations. She’s heading the team in nurturing partnerships that will create a real impact in how we travel in Africa. Simply put, an online network of partnership with a presence in every habitable place.
In conclusion, Mbugua identifies a seamless communication triangle between her department, the customer and the hotel as the pillar to any online hotel booking service. A satisfied customer will not only book again through Jovago.com, they will also recommend both the hotel and the company through their review” Ensuring the customer concerns are promptly and effectively tended to create grounds for personal relationship, despite the impersonal nature traditionally associated with online business.
Jovago.com is part of African Internet Holding (AIH) AIH introduces and accelerates the online shift in Africa – for its people and its culture. AIH has built up multiple web companies, including JUMIA, Zando, Kaymu, Hellofood, Lamudi, Carmudi, Lendico and Easy Taxi.
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