Travel site, i-escape.com was shortlisted for The Good Web Guide Website of the Year 2009 and helps discerning independent travelers find and book exciting places to stay. We caught up with co-founder Laila Ram to find out more.
Explain your website.
i-escape.com is a travel website featuring a collection of hand-picked and personally reviewed hotels, villas and apartments across the world – ranging from a beach hut costing £20 a night to a palatial suite in a boutique hotel costing more than £500 a night. It is not a question of price or ‘star –rating’, each property has to be unique and is full of character. More often than not our properties are independent owned and run. We aim to seek out the hidden gems!
How does it make money?
i-escape gets a commission for all bookings that are made through our website. Unlike most of our competition, we do not charge the properties a fee to be featured on our site as we feel that will ruin our impartiality. Our aim is to only have our favourite places featured. For our clients there is no cost to book through our website – you pay exactly the same (and sometimes less) than booking directly with the hotel itself. An added bonus is that many of our hotels offer i-escape.com guests an added bonus – maybe a locally made gift, a bottle of champagne or even a complimentary activity.
What's your background?
Founders, Nikki Tinto and I did not have backgrounds in the travel industry before setting up i-escape.com. Nikki worked in corporate investigations. She is brilliant at sniffing out those hidden and as yet undiscovered gems of properties, whilst my background is in management consultancy and running small businesses. We believe that our lack of experience in the travel industry was actually one of our key factors to our success as we were able to think out the box and approach things differently from how things were traditionally done in the industry.
When did the site launch?
The site was launched in September 2001 – just after 9/11 and the dotcom crash. Again I think this has worked to our advantage as we learnt how to operate on a tight budget and grow organically. This has stood us in good stead for the current economic climate.
How many visits do you have per day, and do you expect this number to grow in the next 12 months?
We get around 10,000 unique visitors a day and we hope that this will double over the next 12 months, especially with the imminent launch of our new improved site.
Describe your average visitor.
Our average visitor is a savvy independent traveller, who is happy and excited to put together their dream trip themselves. Where they stay and what they experience is more important to them than budget – they often combine a few nights of luxury with a few nights of a more basic but perhaps ‘authentic experience’.
Who is your business mentor and inspiration?
Whilst at business school, I was very fortunate to be involved with Anita Roddick and an organisation committed to promoting and nurturing social responsibility. She has always been my inspiration believing that if you are passionate and caring about what you do, you are likely to succeed not only in monetary terms but also in bringing about positive social change.
In what way has i-escape.com been affected by the economic downturn?
Although we have noticed a slight decline in booking enquiries our conversion rate has actually increased and therefore, the economic downturn has actually been positive for us and our business is growing. We offer a large range of properties to suit every type of trip and budget which I am sure has stood us in good stead through these tricky times. People have remained loyal to i-escape.com and if they are looking to spend less we can always offer them a great choice of properties.
Who are your closest competitors?
Our main competition is people booking directly with the hotels, which they discover on our website, themselves. Although it costs the same (and often less due to special offers) to book through our website, some people will still want to call the hotels and book directly.
What is your biggest challenge?
At the moment our biggest challenge is to launch our new website before the end of the year! Then it will be to meet our clients’ demand for instant availability and booking whilst dealing with hotels and properties that are small and quirky, and not set up to function in an automated environment.
What makes i-escape.com unique?
We personally visit and review each property featured on our website and so have an in-depth knowledge and understanding of them all. We have a very small and experienced team. We do not have a large and anonymous call centre which means that the advice you get from us is personal and first-hand and it may be from the person who has actually reviewed the hotel itself.
If you could be anywhere in the world right now, where would you be?
I am dreaming of being on a beach in Sri Lanka watching dolphins in the sea, rather than sitting here in my office testing our new website. I am planning to go and visit some amazing new places that have opened up in the North West of the country over Christmas – only one month to go and I can’t wait!!
Where do you see the business going from here?
As our client base has grown up with us, we are continually faced with the dilemma of how you go to a charming, quirky, small and intimate hotel with children. There are extra demands when travelling with children and yet going to a large resort with kid’s clubs and buffet meals is not for everyone. So watch this space as i-escape.com tries to find those perfect small kid-friendly places.
Visit
www.i-escape.com
17 November 09
