A Startup Launched To Take Care of Your Luggage, Know The Success Story of LugBee
What is lugbee?
The majority of you enjoy travelling, and at that moment, you would only have one thought: if someone took care of your luggage. LugBee was created by Jitender Singh to meet this need. LugBee is a new startup that helps you travel without having to worry about your luggage. If you left your bags at the LugBee Services Pvt Ltd store, you could move about freely. There are currently only a few cities where Lugbee stores are located. At LugBee, you can store your luggage for a nominal fee.
The Idea!
Jitender Singh’s work led to the idea for the LugBee startup. On the day he was to return from Malaysia with his wife, his flight was scheduled for 8 p.m., but he had to check out of the hotel by noon. Jitender Singh had two options in such a circumstance: go to the airport, which is 20 kilometres away, drop off his bags in the cloakroom, and then come back and wander around. He could have taken all of the bags with him as well, but they were too heavy to carry.
How Lugbee Started?
Jitender Singh learned about a startup that was making it easy for people to keep their goods safe just a few days after returning from Malaysia. He began studying such startups with Jayendra Singh, the company’s co-founder, from that point on. Jayendra, who helped found LugBee Company, has a B.Tech. and an M.Tech. degrees. He began to learn more about the potential of that fledgling business. They discovered that such services are offered by budget hotels in India, but there is no guarantee of quality.
In this circumstance, Jitender considered starting LugBee in 2021. He gave the business the bee-themed name. LugBee collects people’s goods at their stores and alleviates the burden, just like a bee collects a little honey from everywhere. In 2019, Jitender and Jayendra hired marketing professionals and formed a team of two. Following that, marketing professionals carried out a survey, which revealed that 3-star and lower hotels only have one source of revenue: tourism and travel. They struggled for a considerable amount of time to earn money in such a circumstance.
In the meantime, Jitender and Jayendra considered partnering with local or three-star hotels to carry on the business. LugBee began working toward developing the app and becoming technically strong during the COVID surge. During COVID, hotels were closed, making it simple to meet and talk to them.
Jitender Singh has a solid understanding of technology. After earning a degree in commerce from Delhi University, he pursued an MCA. He has worked in the IT industry for about 14 years. He has worked in technology at numerous startups and technology giants like HCL. He has a solid understanding of technology due to his position as Chief Technology Officer (CTO). According to Jitender, the practice of allowing individuals to store their luggage is new in India but is common in Europe. India lacked such a facility until recently.
How does LugBee work?
You will need to download LugBee’s app from the Play Store or Apple Store in order to store your belongings with it. The booking of a cab is similar to handling luggage. The location of nearby stores will be displayed when you open this app from any location. You must select the closest store. You are required to provide details about your luggage and the amount of time that LugBee must keep it on the app. You can then pay using the app as well.
To finalize the reservation, you will require an OTP. After that, you can use the app to get to the location and keep your bag with you. Additionally, you will be required to provide an OTP for verification. You will need to provide an OTP even when you go to return the goods. You will be required to pay in the app for the additional time your item spends in the store if it is not picked up within the allotted time.
How safe is LugBee?
When you think about how safe the LugBee platform is, you can relax. First, the location of the hotel with which the business has a contract is checked. A hotel must have cameras to monitor luggage to join the LugBee Company. Additionally, the hotel ought to have staff, laptops, and reliable internet. An OTP is used for verification during storage and withdrawal to ensure that only you can locate your luggage. Every bag has a seal that is used for tracing.
What is the company’s business model?
You will be required to pay an average of 20 rupees per bag and hour if you book through the company’s app. This cost might be different depending on where you are. The hotel receives the remainder, while the company keeps some of this money. In May 2022, the company released its app. The company has more than one thousand registered users within about five months; More than 450 of these have utilized the company’s offerings.
LugBee can be a great option for people who only need to travel a short distance, like doctors or students who have to take their exams. Because of the high cost, these individuals are unable to reserve a hotel room or use a cloakroom to store their belongings. More than 26 cities, including Delhi, Ghaziabad, Gurgaon, Jaipur, Shimla, Manali, Dehradun, and Mussoorie, can be found using LugBee. On the company’s website (LugBee.com), you can see a comprehensive list of all cities and learn how much each one cost.
What is the future planning?
Additionally, plans are being made to add a facility for pickup and delivery. You won’t have to go anywhere to keep the goods under this arrangement; You can give them your belongings because you will have a lock. Additionally, the company is contemplating the establishment of a unique facility for air travellers. The company is in talks with airlines and the airport authority by this agreement. You can arrange for LugBee to take care of your belongings if you have to travel somewhere. Your luggage will arrive at the airport before your departure. That is, luggage check-in won’t be a problem.
In addition, the business is working to further improve security so that anyone can join. To enhance security, the business is also considering incorporating some Internet of Things devices. The company’s current focus is expanding its operations throughout India; however, it intends to expand its operations throughout Dubai, Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Thailand, and Malaysia in the upcoming years.
The Challenge
Presently, the company faces the greatest challenge of raising awareness. Very little is known about it due to the absence of such a system in India up until this point. They must inform people that LugBee can protect their luggage in such a situation. Because the company is still in its infancy, the fact that its stores are only available in a few locations is a significant obstacle. In addition, security concerns continue to keep people from using this facility.
Where did the funding come from?
LugBee has not yet accepted any funds. Tecore Labs, which was established in 2017 by Jitender Singh and Jayendra Singh, is, however, an additional business they own. LugBee is currently receiving funds from this organization, whose organization is handling all of its costs. Jitender claims that he will seek funding shortly, but the company will need to expand first. In this company’s business model, it does not have any significant assets. Since the company hasn’t paid anything for the lease, expanding is easy. The fact that it has no rivals in India and many rivals in Asia is positive.