How B2B SaaS startup Trilyo is helping the hospitality industry deliver superior customer service
Trilyo integrates PMS (Property Management Systems) and other systems for holistic digital operation in hotels. The multi-channel feedback mechanism lets hoteliers offer unique in-store and off-store customer engagement opportunities.
At a glance
Startup: Trilyo
Founders: Abhishek Moharana and Gaurav Gambhir
Year it was founded: 2015
Where is it based: Bengaluru
The problem it solves: The SaaS company provides hotels end-to-end solutions for customer management through cloud-based service app.
Sector: Hospitality
Funding raised: Undisclosed seed funding
The hospitality industry is driven by customer experience and engagement, and word of mouth is the best marketing strategy. It is also an industry where human capital requirement is huge, and so is the amount of repetitive task. There exists a huge opportunity to automate some of the services so that the restaurant can focus on “delivering a great customer experience”.
Bengaluru-based startup Trilyo is cashing on this opportunity by providing customer acquisition and retention solutions for hotels. Its cloud-based service app provides solutions for restaurants/hotels to grow by acquiring and engaging with consumers.
The platform allows setting up a personalised 24x7 virtual assistant. Powered by AI with Trilyo Voice and Chat Bot, it provides deep customer insights with real-time feedback management and concierge services. It also focuses on multiplying customers with a loyalty programme and automated marketing workflows.
Abhishek Moharana, 31, CEO and Co-founder of Trilyo, says: “We believe that you can only disrupt an industry if you can solve real need. For hotels, the real need now is how to exceed the expectations of millennial travellers.”
Trilyo provides next-generation customer experience with AI-driven voice and chat-based solutions that drive loyalty. Trilyo's business solutions provide deep integration between PMS (Property Management Systems) and all other systems for holistic digital operations in hotels to provide a personalised customer engagement opportunity.
The startup integrates across multiple CRM, messaging platforms, payment solutions, productivity tools, and technology providers. The services are designed to not only satisfy customer demands but delight them. They are smart, unique and personalised, creating powerful experiences for millennials.
The back story
Unlike most Co-founders, Abhishek and Gaurav, 33, share more than just their nine-year-old friendship.
“You see, it’s very rare to find co-founders who are born on the same day,” Abhishek says.
The duo met at TCS over a guitar jamming session and the dots started connecting. While Gaurav was more focused on technology, Abhishek always liked the business and the sales side.
It was during their stay at a hotel for a friend’s big fat wedding, that the duo realised the magic “experience” can create. From easy check-ins, 24X7 room service to personalised messages, they thoroughly enjoyed their stay. There was also a hotel butler assigned for every two rooms. That’s when it struck them: “A personal butler in every room can take the customer experience to a whole new level.”
Since the duo has a tech background, the obvious thing to do was to imagine how a smart hotel room would look like? This thought gave birth to Trilyo, which is redefining customer experience in the smartest possible way.
The duo later roped in Neelam Agarwal while she was working with Cox & Kings to take care of the Trilyo’s marketing.
However, Neelam recalls that when Abhishek approached with the idea, she was a bit apprehensive.
“I liked it but wasn’t sure if I wanted to leave my high-paying job and join a startup. Over time, I actually travelled to a few places and realised that the hospitality industry had huge scope to embrace technology. That was the moment when I decided to join Trilyo,” Neelam says.
The background
Abhishek is an IIT-Bombay alumnus and has seven years of experience in the fields of consulting, investment banking and the IT industry. He has earlier worked for organisations like PwC, Frost & Sullivan, and L&T.
Gaurav is Trilyo’s CTO and has over 11 years of experience in building enterprise application in companies like EY and Bank of America. He is a certified business analyst and a golden beam awards holder in EY.
Neelam, 31, heads marketing at Trilyo. She has a dual MBA degree in marketing from University of California and XIMB. She has diversified marketing experience in two sectors, BFSI and travel. Before Trilyo, she was associated with HDFC Life and Cox & Kings.
What’s next?
Going ahead, Trilyo is eyeing setting a trend of “Intelligent Hotels” across the world. The brand, which is already creating a niche with its tailor-made sales bot for hotels in India, is planning to introduce multilingual sales bot soon. It has already started expanding into the Middle East and is also eyeing expansion in Southeast Asia.
In October 2016, the company raised undisclosed seed funding to expand its product portfolio and garner more clients.
Currently, Trilyo has a team of 11 people across three different locations and is planning to expand the team size to 20 over the next few months. The company follows a simple revenue model, charging clients an annual subscription fee for deployment of services.
Trilyo, being a B2B enterprise solution company, witnessed moderate growth during its early stage. However, over the last four months the company has seen over a 50 percent month-on-month growth.
“By the end of this financial year, we are expecting a return of $120,000. Assuming the current growth rate, we are on track to become operationally profitable by next four to five months,” Abhishek reveals.