Travel pitch deck
Travel is a huge market with thin margins and expensive customers. Investors want to know what you earn per booking, how much you pay to win each one, and whether travellers come back to you directly next time.
The numbers
Travel decks often lead with gross booking value. Investors want the revenue inside it and the cost of getting it.
The number of bookings and their total value. Like GMV in marketplaces, booking value is not revenue.
On the slide: by month and season, with revenue on the same chart.
What you keep per booking, as a share of its value. OTA commissions on hotels have been reported anywhere from about 12% to much higher; MakeMyTrip once agreed to cap commissions at 22% after a hotel boycott in one city[1].
On the slide: by product: stays, packages, transport, experiences.
The share of bookings from returning customers, and how many come directly rather than through ads or search. Repeat and direct bookings are what make travel margins work.
On the slide: by quarter and channel.
Ads, search and affiliate costs per new booking. Large booking sites spend heavily on search, so small players need a cheaper route.
On the slide: by channel, against revenue per booking.
The same fictional company. Summer and October peaks carry the year, so cash and supply plans follow the season, not the calendar.
Competing with giants
Large booking sites win on choice, price comparison and search advertising. Hotels have long complained about their commissions; one 2019 dispute ended with MakeMyTrip agreeing to cap commissions at 22% in Ahmedabad[1].
A travel startup needs a reason travellers come to it first: curated supply nobody else has, a niche like treks, pilgrimages or workations done far better, a community, or a trip that is planned end to end.
On your slide, show what share of your supply is exclusive, how many bookings come direct, and how your marketing cost per booking compares with your revenue per booking.
In the meeting
Slide by slide
The order follows the structure most investors expect, from Sequoia's original business plan outline[2] to Y Combinator's seed deck advice[3]. The notes are what changes for travel.
Red flags
Investors give a deck a few minutes. DocSend found average review time fell to under three minutes in 2022[4]. These are the slides that use those minutes badly.
Astitva writes your investor story free from a short brief, in this order, then designs each slide in your own brand for 5 credits. A 12-slide deck is 60 credits.
No card needed. Packs from ₹299 or $3, no subscription.
Twelve slides in investor order with bookings and revenue, take rate by product, repeat and direct bookings, marketing cost per booking, seasonality, and why travellers choose you over large booking sites.
The share of a booking's value that the company keeps as revenue, from commissions, margins or fees. It varies by product and model.
Through exclusive or curated supply, a niche done far better, a community that books directly, or complete trip planning that large sites do not offer.
Yes. Astitva writes the investor story free from a short brief and designs each slide in your brand for 5 credits. New accounts get 50 free credits.
Figures from these sources were current when this guide was written. Rules and benchmarks change, so check the latest version before you rely on one.