OTAs · META · FLIGHTS · HOTELS · HOLIDAYS · CORPORATE TRAVEL
Online Travel & OTA
Executive Search
42+ Online Travel Placements — with an average 84 Days time-to-placement and a 12-month candidate guarantee.
42+
Online Travel Placements
84 Days
Avg. Time-to-Placement
91%
Offer Acceptance Rate
12 Months
Candidate Guarantee
Specialisation withinHospitality & Travel·Crafting World-Class Experiences
Indian online-travel is a ₹60,000-Cr GMV market led by MakeMyTrip (listed, owns Goibibo + redBus), EaseMyTrip (listed), Yatra (listed), Cleartrip (Flipkart-owned), Ixigo (listed 2024), Paytm Travel, TBO Tek (listed 2024), Hostiko / Hostelworld India, Happyeasygo, Thomas Cook India, SOTC, Cox & Kings, and a growing meta / specialist tranche (Skyscanner, Kayak, Ixigo Meta, Trainman, ConfirmTkt). Corporate-travel leaders include BCD Travel India, CWT India, FCM Travel Solutions, American Express GBT India. Bus / rail / train platforms (redBus, Trainman, ConfirmTkt, IRCTC as government-enabled platform) round out the ecosystem.
Is This Your Situation?
If any of these sound familiar, you're speaking to the right practice.
→A listed OTA sought a CMO to rebuild growth-and-retention architecture — placed in 86 days
→A B2B2C travel platform hired a CEO to lead pan-India travel-agent expansion — closed in 98 days
→A TMC needed a Head of Corporate Travel post pandemic reset — placed in 82 days
→An OTA needed a Chief Product Officer for mobile-first redesign — closed in 78 days
Our Online Travel & OTA Track Record
Situation:
A listed OTA sought a new CMO to rebuild growth and retention architecture after a 4-quarter user-growth slowdown.
Outcome:
Placed a candidate from a consumer-internet major in 86 days; MAU +32% in 14 months; CAC / LTV ratio improved by 28%.
Situation:
A B2B2C travel platform needed a CEO to lead pan-India travel-agent expansion post-IPO.
Outcome:
Placed a candidate from a rival B2B2C platform in 98 days; partner-agent base grew 42% in year one; B2B GMV +58%.
All client details anonymised. Specific mandates available for reference under NDA upon request.
Our Online Travel & OTA Practice
Indian online-travel is a ₹60,000-Cr GMV market led by MakeMyTrip (listed, owns Goibibo + redBus), EaseMyTrip (listed), Yatra (listed), Cleartrip (Flipkart-owned), Ixigo (listed 2024), Paytm Travel, TBO Tek (listed 2024), Hostiko / Hostelworld India, Happyeasygo, Thomas Cook India, SOTC, Cox & Kings, and a growing meta / specialist tranche (Skyscanner, Kayak, Ixigo Meta, Trainman, ConfirmTkt). Corporate-travel leaders include BCD Travel India, CWT India, FCM Travel Solutions, American Express GBT India. Bus / rail / train platforms (redBus, Trainman, ConfirmTkt, IRCTC as government-enabled platform) round out the ecosystem.
Gladwin’s Online Travel & OTA practice places CEOs, Chief Product Officers, Chief Technology Officers, Chief Marketing / Growth Officers, Heads of Flights / Hotels / Holidays / Corporate Travel, Heads of Supply and Heads of B2B2C / Enterprise Distribution. Every mandate addresses ARPU / margin architecture, IATA / BSP compliance, GDS-dependency dynamics and the post-pandemic travel-recovery P&L.
As a specialist CEO mandates in OTAs, our practice also covers Chief Product Officer searches, our practice also covers Hospitality & Travel practice overview, and as a source for Hospitality — premium restaurants & F&B.
The Online Travel & OTA Landscape Today
Indian online-travel GMV is at all-time highs post 2023–25 travel recovery. Flights remain the largest category (₹38,000+ Cr GMV), hotels second. Domestic travel drives growth; international outbound to GCC / SE-Asia / Europe is re-accelerating. MakeMyTrip holds 40%+ consumer OTA share; EaseMyTrip has scaled through low-margin growth; Ixigo IPO 2024 validated train / bus / flight mix. TBO Tek’s B2B2C play (travel-agent distribution) is a distinctive model. Corporate-travel is rebuilding post hybrid-work reset; MICE segment growing sharply.
Key Leadership Challenges in Online Travel & OTA
ARPU / margin architecture — flights margins are thin (2–5%), hotels / holidays higher (8–18%)
GDS (Amadeus / Sabre / Travelport) and NDC (New Distribution Capability) shifts
Supply partnerships — airlines, hotel chains, hotel aggregators, DMCs
IATA / BSP / GSTN compliance architecture
Post-COVID risk-reserve modelling — refund / cancellation / force-majeure reserves
Corporate-travel hybrid-work reset — rebuilding B2B pipelines
What We Look For in Online Travel & OTA Leaders
Across mandates, online travel & ota leadership tends to cluster into a small set of archetypes. We calibrate each search against the profile your board actually needs — not the one most commonly available.
The OTA CEO
A senior leader with 15–22 years across OTAs and e-commerce, ARPU / margin / retention-architecture discipline, supply-and-demand-side dual stewardship and the governance rhythm of listed / pre-IPO platforms.
The Chief Product Officer
A product leader with OTA / marketplace product franchise, mobile-first-design credibility, personalisation / recommendation stewardship and A/B-testing discipline at scale.
The Head of Flights
A flights-category leader with airline-partnership stewardship, GDS / NDC navigation credibility and yield-and-ancillary-revenue architecture.
The Head of Hotels
A hotels-category leader with chain-and-independent-hotel supply-contracting stewardship, DMC-relationship franchise and commission-vs-merchant model P&L discipline.
The Corporate-Travel Leader
A TMC / corporate-travel leader with top-500-account-management credibility, expense-management-platform stewardship and hybrid-work-policy adaptation discipline.
The B2B2C Leader
A B2B2C leader with travel-agent-distribution franchise, channel-enablement-technology credibility and sub-agent-onboarding stewardship.
Regulatory & Compensation Context
Regulatory Backdrop
IATA Agent Accreditation; BSP (Billing and Settlement Plan) compliance; GSTN with 18% tax on online-travel service fees; FEMA for foreign-currency outbound-travel remittances (LRS $250,000 per person per year); RBI for TCS on foreign remittances (5% / 20% based on threshold); DGCA for air-travel-related consumer protection; Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) Rules 2020; DPDP Act 2023 for traveller data; IT Act 2000 / IT (Intermediary Guidelines) Rules 2021; Companies Act 2013; SEBI LODR for listed OTAs; Foreign Exchange Management (Current Account Transactions) Rules 2000; Ministry of Tourism travel-agent recognition.
Compensation Architecture
OTA CEOs: ₹5–15 Cr fixed + STI + ESOP (significant at listed / pre-IPO platforms); CPO / CTO: ₹4–9 Cr + ESOP; CMO / Chief Growth Officer: ₹3.5–7 Cr + user-acquisition-efficiency STI; Heads of Flights / Hotels / Holidays: ₹2.5–5 Cr + category-P&L STI; Head of Corporate Travel: ₹2.5–5 Cr + revenue-linked STI; Head of Supply: ₹2–4 Cr; Head of B2B2C: ₹2.5–5 Cr + channel-growth-linked STI.
Roles We Typically Place
Why Gladwin International Leadership Advisors for Online Travel & OTA
CEO / MD searches at OTAs and online-travel platforms
Chief Product / Technology / Growth Officer searches
Head of Flights / Hotels / Holidays / Bus / Rail searches
Head of Corporate Travel / TMC leadership searches
Head of Supply / Hotel-Contracting / DMC-Partnerships searches
Head of B2B2C / Enterprise Distribution searches
Chief Marketing Officer with OTA user-acquisition credibility
Organisations We Serve
Consumer OTAs — MakeMyTrip / Goibibo / redBus, EaseMyTrip, Yatra, Cleartrip, Ixigo, Paytm Travel, Happyeasygo
B2B2C / travel-agent platforms — TBO Tek, Riya Travel, Akbar Travels, Flyhi
TMCs / corporate-travel — BCD Travel India, CWT India, FCM Travel, American Express GBT India, Uniglobe, Carlson Wagonlit
Traditional travel companies — Thomas Cook India, SOTC, Cox & Kings (relaunched)
Meta / specialist — Skyscanner India, Kayak, Ixigo Meta, Trainman, ConfirmTkt
Enablers / platforms — IRCTC (PSU), Amadeus India, Sabre India, Travelport India
Online Travel & OTA leaders assessed on the Hospitality “PINNACLE” framework
Seven dimensions calibrated for hospitality and travel leadership. Dimensions are calibrated for online travel & ota mandates where relevant.
Parent Practice
Return to Hospitality & Travel
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