Vijit Jain

Vijit Jain questioned if the GST cut in the hotel segment led to a demand shift from higher ticket sizes to the sub-INR 7,500 category and if MakeMyTrip gained market share due to better selection. He also explored whether agentic AI/LLMs could accelerate the online shift in complex travel categories like international or packages, traditionally handled by agents. Finally, he asked if total marketing spend would trend back towards 5%-5.5% as air travel recovers.

Answer

Mohit Kabra, Group CFO, confirmed a demand shift to the sub-INR 7,500 category due to GST, noting a ~3% shift from premium to mid/budget segments, which unlocked overall hotel demand. Rajesh Magow, Co-Founder and Group CEO, suggested that MakeMyTrip's Mira, as a digital agent offering interactive, vernacular, and customized trip planning with seamless booking, could accelerate the online shift in complex travel more effectively than just trip planning alone. Mr. Kabra stated that marketing spend should most likely trend back towards previous levels as air travel recovers, reflecting changes in the business mix.

Vijit Jain asked if the GST cut in the hotel segment caused demand to shift from higher ticket sizes to the sub-INR 7,500 category, and if MakeMyTrip gained market share due to better selection in that category. He also inquired if agentic AI and LLMs, like Myra, could accelerate the online shift in complex categories such as international travel or packages, traditionally handled by agents. Lastly, he asked if total marketing spend would trend back towards 5%-5.5% as air travel recovers from the summer season onwards.

Answer

Mohit Kabra (Group CFO) confirmed a demand shift due to the significant price differential from GST changes, noting a roughly 3% shift from premium/super premium to mid/budget segments. He added that MakeMyTrip's expansion focuses on mid-to-budget segments, and the primary benefit was unlocking overall demand. Rajesh Magow (Co-Founder and Group CEO) agreed that Myra, as an interactive digital agent offering customization and seamless booking/post-sales support, could accelerate the online shift in complex travel more effectively than just trip planning. Mr. Kabra confirmed that marketing spend is most likely to trend back towards 5%-5.5% as air travel recovers, as it reflects the business mix and contains no one-offs.

Vijit Jain from Citi asked about the outlook for adjusted EBIT margins against the company's guidance, the rationale for an increase in air ticketing customer inducements, and the reason for lower GBV growth compared to room nights booked in the hotel segment.

Answer

Group CFO Mohit Kabra reaffirmed the full-year adjusted operating margin guidance of 1.8% to 2% of gross bookings, explaining that spending is managed tactically. He advised looking at the total customer acquisition cost, which was efficient, rather than specific inducement line items. He clarified that the divergence in hotel GBV growth was due to the flat performance of high-value holiday packages, which impacted the segment's blended average.

Vijit Jain of Citigroup inquired about MakeMyTrip's strategy for the 'experiences' category following a major launch by Airbnb, potential inorganic growth opportunities in experiences or travel media, and whether there were any one-off costs from recent travel disruptions.

Answer

Co-Founder and Group CEO Rajesh Magow revealed that MakeMyTrip has already launched its own extensive tours and experiences offering, which is currently being rolled out organically to leverage existing platform traffic. He stated that the M&A focus remains on niche, capability-enhancing acquisitions rather than large plays in experiences or content. Magow also confirmed there were no one-off costs associated with the recent geopolitical disruptions, only a temporary dip in travel sentiment.

Vijit Jain of Citigroup inquired if the upcoming fourth quarter would be less seasonal than prior years due to specific events. He also asked for a breakdown of marketing spend between direct booking attribution and brand marketing, and questioned the company's experimentation with generative AI for end-to-end travel bookings.

Answer

Rajesh Magow, Co-Founder and Group CEO, responded that he does not anticipate Q4 seasonality to be significantly different, as the business serves a mix of leisure and non-leisure use cases year-round. Mohit Kabra, Group CFO, clarified that marketing spend trends with seasonality and is best viewed as a percentage of gross bookings. Magow confirmed that the company is deeply invested in GenAI, including agent-like chatbots for bookings, but emphasized that widespread consumer adoption will be a gradual journey.

Vijit Jain inquired about the mix of packaged trips in the international hotel business, the ratio of direct versus agent bookings for international hotels, and the potential steady-state online penetration for the hotel segment.

Answer

Group CFO Mohit Kabra clarified that Q2 is a seasonal low for packages and that the reported international growth was for standalone hotels. He explained that directly contracted hotels account for 50-60% of room nights overall, rising to 70-75% in key markets. Group CEO Rajesh Magow added that online penetration for hotels is low (15-20% domestic, 10-15% international), offering significant headroom for growth compared to mature markets.