No, Travel Portals MakeMyTrip and Goibibo Have Not Been Banned

Social media posts falsely claim that travel websites MakeMyTrip and Goibibo have been banned.

A viral message on social media falsely claimed that MakeMyTrip and Goibibo have been banned.

(Photo: Altered by The Quint)

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CLAIM

A viral message on social media claims that travel websites MakeMyTrip and Goibibo have been banned, and that people risk losing money if they book through these portals.

Several users have shared the message with the identical narrative on Twitter.

TRUE OR FALSE?

These rumours stem from reports of a tussle between hoteliers in Ahmedabad and the two booking portals. According to reports, the Hotel and Restaurants Association of Gujarat has expressed displeasure over the discounts offered on the two portals, claiming that the offers have been hurting their profitability.

But the viral message is fake on two accounts – neither is there a ban on the portals in Ahmedabad, nor is there one across the country.

An official spokesperson from MakeMyTrip confirmed to The Quint that bookings would continued to be honoured and will not be cancelled, as feared by many, in Ahmedabad. Further, the official Twitter handles of MakeMyTrip and Goibibo tweeted to warn the customers against the misleading claims being made on social media.

“As always, all booking on our platform are being serviced without any hassle to the customer. We continue to operate our business as usual.”

MakeMyTrip

In October 2016, MakeMyTrip and Ibibo Group announced one of the biggest mergers in the travel space. This move unified travel brands such as MakeMyTrip, Goibibo, redBus, Ryde, and Rightstay.

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