If you don’t know about MakeMyTrip and you live in India, we assume you must be living under a rock or something. Right? But the thing is, this MakeMyTrip platform isn’t something new; the foundation for this idea and this company was laid back in 2000 by Deep Kalra. And look at it now. It is a full-fledged group now with brands like MakeMyTrip, Goibibo, and redBus. So, just in case, if you were wondering what exactly the MakeMyTrip business model is or what the different ways it makes money are, then just keep on reading.
| Company / Brand name | MakeMyTrip Limited (MMYT) |
| Establishment year | 2000 |
| Headquarters | Gurugram (Gurgaon), Haryana, India |
| Founder / Owner | Deep Kalra (founder) |
| Industry | Online travel/travel technology (OTA, marketplace) |
| Net worth (market capitalization) | Approximately US$8.72 billion(market-cap snapshot as of 12 Oct, 2025) |
| Total revenue (FY2024) | US$782.5 million (fiscal year ended March 31, 2024) |
How MakeMyTrip’s Business Model Works
MakeMyTrip is just like a huge online marketplace for travel. Firstly, there are customers who want to book tickets, rooms, or tour packages. Secondly, suppliers such as airlines, hotels, and bus operators that have the stock are waiting to sell it to you.
Both sides are connected by MakeMyTrip through its website and mobile app. It’s responsible for payments, customer support, and the entire booking process. The company, however, gets revenues by several means.
There are times when it just plays the role of an intermediary and receives a small percentage of the total amount for each booking made. It is also possible that the company obtains the stock (such as the hotel rooms or flight-hotel combinations) directly and then resells them to customers. This surely allows the company to have a larger profit margin, but also ties up more of its cash flow.
Main Ways MakeMyTrip Earns Money
MakeMyTrip has several major sources of revenue that we need to know. We can go over their main revenue streams quickly!
1. Commissions and Service Fees
MakeMyTrip has been relying on the commissions or the service fees as one of its most steady and regular revenue streams. And this is what we all know about on the surface level. Whenever a hotel, airline, or any other travel partner is booked through the platform, a part of the money always goes to the company in the form of a commission or service fee.
2. Merchant Margins (Buying & Reselling)
Sometimes, it happens that MakeMyTrip acquires travel stock below the cost and resells it to clients at a higher rate. The amount that is left between the two is referred to as the merchant margin. Such a method of operation allows the company to gain higher net profits from each booking, but at the same time, it also means that the company has to bear higher operating expenses.
3. Customer Fees and Add-ons
In addition, the company makes money from minor fees that include a convenience charge, a cancellation fee, seat selection, travel insurance, and other small products that customers purchase during their booking. This seems like a small thing, but these no-effort fees stack up really well and turn into a good income stream for MakeMyTrip.
4. Advertising and Sponsored Listings
Travel partners share a certain amount of money with MakeMyTrip in order to be featured in the top search results or in special advertising locations on the website or the app. This is a major profit source for the company as it is almost free to show these promotional activities, again, a no-effort income stream.
5. Payment and Forex Income
One of the ways that MakeMyTrip generates income is by just a small profit on the transactions they manage, which typically involve credit card payments, money that is temporarily held, and which they convert into a different currency for international bookings.
6. Corporate and B2B Solutions
Besides this, the company is offering the service of travel management to the business area, as well as to the agents of the industry. Such agreements usually lead to repeat business and are an excellent source of stable income.
7. Vertical Products (redBus and Holiday Packages)
The redBus platform makes money on the basis of per-ticket fees. Besides this, holiday packages and curated travel experiences offer the company more significant profits than the simple bookings of flights or hotels.
8. New Services and Acquisitions
Over the years, the company has integrated additional functionalities that resulted from collaborations and mergers, for instance, with areas like expense management and small fintech solutions, which enable the enterprise to get hold of some new revenue streams.
Quick Financial Snapshot
It is necessary to comprehend two concepts that will frequently pop up in our discussion, namely Gross Booking Value (GBV) and Revenue, even before delving into the way MakeMyTrip makes money.
Gross Booking Value (GBV) represents the sum of all the money that customers pay for their bookings via the platform.
Revenue refers to the money that MakeMyTrip gets net of the following: discounts, refunds, and supplier payments.
In FY2024, the company MakeMyTrip has shown revenue close to 782.5 million USD and a total company value of approximately 8.72 billion USD. Figures indicate that the organization has been on a very good upward growth trajectory for a few years.
