Carvaan
Carvaan is an India-based, web-first group travel marketplace that connects solo travelers, friend groups, and corporate teams with trip operators, monetizing through a 15% commission on bookings and supplementing transactions with a community platform and a Carvaan Coins loyalty program.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded-
- HeadquartersGurgaon, India
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingDigital Commerce or Content
What Carvaan does
Carvaan is an India-based, web-first group travel marketplace headquartered in Gurugram, Haryana, operating as a sole proprietorship with approximately 15 employees. The platform connects individual travelers and corporate groups with group trip operators and tour package vendors, allowing users to discover and book trips by destination and month, filtered by trip type (Group Trips or Tour Packages). The core product is the Trips Marketplace, complemented by a community engagement module featuring traveler stories, polls, quizzes, an interactive map, and a leaderboard of "top explorers," plus a Carvaan Coins loyalty currency (100 coins = INR 1, redeemable up to 20% of a booking capped at INR 2,500) that rewards signups, referrals, and bookings.
The underlying technology is a Next.js-based web platform with mobile-responsive design, social login (Google, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn), and a deep-linked WhatsApp support channel via api.whatsapp.com. The stack is standard marketplace architecture without disclosed AI/ML components, proprietary models, or mobile applications; differentiation is pursued through community features and loyalty mechanics rather than technology depth. Vendors retain control over trip pricing and the booking confirmation, with Carvaan providing the aggregation, cancellation handling, and customer support layer.
Carvaan monetizes through a 15% commission on successful bookings plus an implicit vendor-side fee on vendor-initiated cancellations. The primary customer segment is solo-to-squad individual travelers (positioned via the tagline "From Solo to Squad"), with a secondary push into corporate group travel. Marketing is concentrated in organic Instagram content, WhatsApp engagement, referral codes, and user-generated community stories rather than paid acquisition. The company has not disclosed external funding, leadership hires, partnerships, or revenue figures, and operates entirely within the Indian market with anecdotal evidence of outbound international trip inventory.
Carvaan firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Carvaan
- Legal name
- Carvaan
- Website
- https://carvaan.co
- Company type
- Private
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Carvaan is an India-based, web-first group travel marketplace that connects solo travelers, friend groups, and corporate teams with trip operators, monetizing through a 15% commission on bookings and supplementing transactions with a community platform and a Carvaan Coins loyalty program.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Carvaan industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Online Travel Marketplace
- NAICS
- Tour Operators (561520), Travel Agencies (561510)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Online Booking & Reservation Platforms (B2B/B2C) (THALAMAA)
Keywords
Where Carvaan is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Gurgaon
- HQ country
- India
- HQ region
- Asia
Offices3 records
Markets served
Carvaan business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Digital Commerce or Content
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Personnel
Revenue model
- Group Trip Bookings Commission: Carvaan charges vendors a 15% commission on successful bookings. The platform facilitates transactions between travelers and trip vendors/operators, taking a marketplace take-rate on each completed booking.
- Vendor Listing Fees: Vendors list trips on the Carvaan platform. The vendor cancellation policy indicates vendors pay 15% to Carvaan when trips are cancelled from vendor's end, suggesting vendor-side monetization.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Trip prices set by individual vendors on the marketplace |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels4 records
Carvaan product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Carvaan operates an online group travel marketplace that aggregates and curates group trips and tour packages across international, domestic, weekend, religious, and honeymoon categories for Indian travelers ranging from solo travelers to squads. The platform enables discovery and booking of these curated trips, embeds trip insurance and EMI payment options, runs a Carvaan Coins loyalty rewards program for repeat bookings, and supports a community layer for traveler interaction, while earning a 15% take rate from trip operators on confirmed bookings.
Product overview
Carvaan is a group travel marketplace platform offering a unified ecosystem for discovering and booking group trips and tour packages. The core offering consists of the Trips Marketplace, complemented by the Carvaan Coins loyalty rewards program for earning and redeeming discounts, and the Carvaan Community platform for traveler engagement and stories. Additional supporting features include FAQ support, About Us information, and Contact support services.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Carvaan Group Travel Marketplace An online discovery and booking platform that aggregates curated group trips and tour packages across international, domestic, weekend, religious, and honeymoon categories for Indian individual and group travelers (from solo travelers to squads), with embedded trip insurance and EMI payment options on the booking interface.
- Carvaan Coins Loyalty Program A loyalty rewards program available to Carvaan travelers that lets them earn and redeem Carvaan Coins on trip bookings, designed to drive repeat engagement and customer retention on the marketplace.
- Carvaan Community A community platform for Carvaan travelers to interact, share experiences, and engage with fellow travelers, extending engagement beyond the booking transaction.
Companies that use Carvaan
Customer profileNamed customers6 records
Segments2 records
Ideal customer profiles1 record
Carvaan technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration5 records
Feature3 records
Carvaan partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators2 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Carvaan competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- SOTC Travel: Indian domestic and outbound tour operator with fixed group departures; comparable in the organized group-trip slot where Carvaan aggregates vendor packages.
- Thomas Cook India: Heritage Indian tour operator with packaged group holidays across domestic and international destinations; overlaps Carvaan on product (group tour packages) rather than technology.
- Veena World: Established Indian group tour operator with fixed-departure group trips; competes head-on with Carvaan's curated group packages for Indian leisure travelers.
- ixigo: Major Indian online travel aggregator with growing tours and activities inventory; overlaps Carvaan on travel discovery and booking for Indian consumers.
- MakeMyTrip: India's dominant OTA covering flights, hotels, holidays, and group tours; competes with Carvaan on the group holiday and package-discovery portion of the funnel.
- Cox & Kings: Long-standing Indian tour and travel operator with packaged group tours globally; overlaps Carvaan's outbound group trip segment at the higher AOV end.
Direct peers
- Thrillophilia: India's largest activities and experiences marketplace; aggregates activity and tour operators for Indian travelers — directly comparable on marketplace model and target customer.
- TravelTriangle: Indian travel marketplace that matches travelers with tour operators through quotation-based trips; comparable in aggregating packaged tours across multiple operators.
Emerging players
- TourRadar: Multi-day tour marketplace aggregating tour operators worldwide; an international-scale analog for Carvaan, particularly relevant for the outbound group trip segment.
- Backpacker Group: India-based group travel community organizer running fixed-departure trips; mirrors Carvaan's early-stage, community-led ethos targeting solo Indian travelers.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat3 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Carvaan social profiles
Digital presenceCarvaan financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Carvaan leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Carvaan funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Carvaan M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Carvaan
What does Carvaan do?
Carvaan operates an online group travel marketplace that aggregates and curates group trips and tour packages across international, domestic, weekend, religious, and honeymoon categories for Indian travelers ranging from solo travelers to squads. The platform enables discovery and booking of these curated trips, embeds trip insurance and EMI payment options, runs a Carvaan Coins loyalty rewards program for repeat bookings, and supports a community layer for traveler interaction, while earning a 15% take rate from trip operators on confirmed bookings.
Is Carvaan a public or private company?
Carvaan is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Carvaan founded?
Carvaan was founded in -1. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Carvaan based?
Carvaan is headquartered in Gurgaon, India, in the Asia region.
How does Carvaan make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Group Trip Bookings Commission is the primary driver. The others are vendor Listing Fees.
Who are Carvaan's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are SOTC Travel, Thomas Cook India, Veena World, ixigo, MakeMyTrip and Cox & Kings. Direct peers are Thrillophilia and TravelTriangle. Emerging players are TourRadar and Backpacker Group.
Does Carvaan have an API?
No public API is recorded for Carvaan.
What industry is Carvaan in?
Carvaan's product category is Online Travel Marketplace. Its primary akta.pro industry code is THALAMAA, Online Booking & Reservation Platforms (B2B/B2C). Its NAICS code is 561520.