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What is the story about?
AI-native travel platform 30 Sundays is targeting a doubling of its monthly gross booking value (GBV) by March and plans to expand to around 35 destinations as it looks to scale beyond its initial focus on couples and a handful of international markets.
The company recorded monthly GBV of around ₹17 crore in June and plans to double that figure by March, Co-Founder and CEO Kshitij Chaudhary told CNBC-TV18. It also plans to take its destination count to around 35, with about 10 destinations expected to be operational by March next year.
The expansion comes after 30 Sundays raised ₹61 crore in a Series A round led by Bessemer Venture Partners. Chaudhary said the capital will be used to increase marketing and brand-building efforts, expand into new customer segments and geographies, and strengthen the company's product and technology teams.
The company has already expanded beyond its initial markets, with New Zealand and Mauritius among the destinations it has launched. It plans to add summer destinations to its largely winter-focused portfolio by December and launch them early next year.
From ₹200 crore GBV to operational profitability
30 Sundays has reached an annualised GBV run rate of around ₹200 crore while operating across just four destinations, according to Chaudhary. With a take rate of about 10%, the company's annualised revenue is close to ₹20 crore.
Around 30% of customers come through organic efforts, while 15% come through repeat business and referrals, he said.
The company is also CM3 positive, meaning its take rate covers marketing, sales, operations and customer support costs. Chaudhary said 30 Sundays is operationally profitable.
The company currently focuses on couples and has built its offering around romantic hotels and experiences. It plans to expand into more customer segments as it grows.
Why 30 Sundays started with couples
30 Sundays began by focusing on younger couples after identifying what Chaudhary described as a gap between the travel experiences customers discover online and the offerings traditionally provided by travel agents.
“Younger couples are very active on Instagram. They see these newer experiences, unique experiences and hotels out there, and then they want to go there,” Chaudhary said.
He said traditional travel agents often continue to offer fixed tours and activities, which may not cater to travellers looking for more personalised experiences.
“So, we decided to take one segment. It's what Amazon did with books and build a really good product for this segment and a very good experience,” he said.
The company has since contracted romantic hotels and experiences for couples. Chaudhary said the focused approach has also helped the company improve customer acquisition economics by operating in a segment with limited direct competition.
AI for itinerary planning, humans where trust matters
The company is seeking to differentiate itself from conventional online travel agencies by using AI for itinerary planning while retaining human support for customer interactions where reassurance or expert guidance is needed.
Chaudhary said the travel market broadly consists of do-it-yourself travellers and those who prefer a travel company or agent to manage the experience for them. While online travel agencies primarily cater to the former, 30 Sundays is targeting the latter.
The company uses AI to process large numbers of hotels and experiences and create personalised itineraries. Human intervention remains part of the process when customers need help with decisions or require reassurance before making a booking.
“If the customer is anxious about making a payment, or he is confused between two choices, that is the right time to make him speak with an expert,” Chaudhary said.
AI can process hundreds of hotels and experiences faster when a customer is trying to finalise an itinerary, he said.
Chaudhary said the longer-term differentiator in travel would be customer experience rather than access to inventory or AI alone.
“Again, it is the companies which build the best experience that will really differentiate themselves,” he said.
Expansion beyond couples
The company plans to use the fresh capital to expand beyond its current customer segment and geographic footprint.
The broader opportunity is the growth of India's outbound leisure travel market, as more Indian travellers look beyond traditional destinations such as Bali, Vietnam, the Maldives and Thailand.
For 30 Sundays, the expansion strategy involves increasing the number of destinations and customer segments while using AI to automate parts of the travel planning process and retaining human support for selected customer interactions.
The company is targeting a monthly GBV of around ₹34 crore by March, up from approximately ₹17 crore in June, while increasing its destination presence from four markets currently to around 35 over time.
The company recorded monthly GBV of around ₹17 crore in June and plans to double that figure by March, Co-Founder and CEO Kshitij Chaudhary told CNBC-TV18. It also plans to take its destination count to around 35, with about 10 destinations expected to be operational by March next year.
The expansion comes after 30 Sundays raised ₹61 crore in a Series A round led by Bessemer Venture Partners. Chaudhary said the capital will be used to increase marketing and brand-building efforts, expand into new customer segments and geographies, and strengthen the company's product and technology teams.
The company has already expanded beyond its initial markets, with New Zealand and Mauritius among the destinations it has launched. It plans to add summer destinations to its largely winter-focused portfolio by December and launch them early next year.
From ₹200 crore GBV to operational profitability
30 Sundays has reached an annualised GBV run rate of around ₹200 crore while operating across just four destinations, according to Chaudhary. With a take rate of about 10%, the company's annualised revenue is close to ₹20 crore.
Around 30% of customers come through organic efforts, while 15% come through repeat business and referrals, he said.
The company is also CM3 positive, meaning its take rate covers marketing, sales, operations and customer support costs. Chaudhary said 30 Sundays is operationally profitable.
The company currently focuses on couples and has built its offering around romantic hotels and experiences. It plans to expand into more customer segments as it grows.
Why 30 Sundays started with couples
30 Sundays began by focusing on younger couples after identifying what Chaudhary described as a gap between the travel experiences customers discover online and the offerings traditionally provided by travel agents.
“Younger couples are very active on Instagram. They see these newer experiences, unique experiences and hotels out there, and then they want to go there,” Chaudhary said.
He said traditional travel agents often continue to offer fixed tours and activities, which may not cater to travellers looking for more personalised experiences.
“So, we decided to take one segment. It's what Amazon did with books and build a really good product for this segment and a very good experience,” he said.
The company has since contracted romantic hotels and experiences for couples. Chaudhary said the focused approach has also helped the company improve customer acquisition economics by operating in a segment with limited direct competition.
AI for itinerary planning, humans where trust matters
The company is seeking to differentiate itself from conventional online travel agencies by using AI for itinerary planning while retaining human support for customer interactions where reassurance or expert guidance is needed.
Chaudhary said the travel market broadly consists of do-it-yourself travellers and those who prefer a travel company or agent to manage the experience for them. While online travel agencies primarily cater to the former, 30 Sundays is targeting the latter.
The company uses AI to process large numbers of hotels and experiences and create personalised itineraries. Human intervention remains part of the process when customers need help with decisions or require reassurance before making a booking.
“If the customer is anxious about making a payment, or he is confused between two choices, that is the right time to make him speak with an expert,” Chaudhary said.
AI can process hundreds of hotels and experiences faster when a customer is trying to finalise an itinerary, he said.
Chaudhary said the longer-term differentiator in travel would be customer experience rather than access to inventory or AI alone.
“Again, it is the companies which build the best experience that will really differentiate themselves,” he said.
Expansion beyond couples
The company plans to use the fresh capital to expand beyond its current customer segment and geographic footprint.
The broader opportunity is the growth of India's outbound leisure travel market, as more Indian travellers look beyond traditional destinations such as Bali, Vietnam, the Maldives and Thailand.
For 30 Sundays, the expansion strategy involves increasing the number of destinations and customer segments while using AI to automate parts of the travel planning process and retaining human support for selected customer interactions.
The company is targeting a monthly GBV of around ₹34 crore by March, up from approximately ₹17 crore in June, while increasing its destination presence from four markets currently to around 35 over time.
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