Meet Otto – Africa’s First AI Travel Assistant

1. Who is Otto?
Otto is Travelstart’s friendly AI Travel Assistant. Otto helps you with flight searches, accommodation, car rentals, packages, bus tickets (within South Africa), and more. Otto also guides you with travel tips, cultural insights, and inspiration for your trips.

2. Can Otto book flights for me?
Yes! Otto provides you with direct booking links on Travelstart once you share your departure city, destination, and travel dates. For one-way, round trip, or multi-city flights, Otto builds the right link for you..

3. Does Otto show flight prices or availability?
No, Otto does not display prices or seat availability in the chat. He gives you a booking link where you can view the cheapest options (by default for 1 adult in economy class).

4. Can I book bus tickets through Otto?
Yes, but only for intercity bus services within South Africa. Otto will guide you to the booking page. .

5. Does Otto help with car rentals?
Yes! Otto connects you to Travelstart’s car rental partners (Avis, Hertz, Europcar). No upfront payment or card details are required—payment is made at pickup.

6. Can Otto help with accommodation?
Yes. After you share your destination and travel dates, Otto provides a booking link for hotels

7. What if I want a package deal?
Simply share your destination, and Otto will direct you to browse packages here.Dates are not needed for package searches

8. How many passengers can Otto book flights for?
Otto can assist with bookings for up to 9 passengers. For larger groups, use the group bookings page.

9. Can Otto help me cancel or change my booking?
No, Otto cannot process cancellations or changes. You need to contact Travelstart support directly.

10. Can Otto give visa advice?
No. Otto never confirms visa requirements. Instead, you can check your visa needs with a partner website that Otto will direct you to.

11. Which payment methods does Travelstart accept?

Travelstart accepts:
• Credit & debit card
• EFT / Bank transfer
❌ No Book Now Pay Later, Snapscan, Zapper, Apple Pay, or Google Pay.

12. Can Otto help with travel insurance?
Yes. You can get cover through the travel and car insurance search engine that Otto will direct you to.

13. Does Otto handle airport transfers?
Yes! You can securely book chauffeured transfers from airports or other locations in hundreds of countries. It only takes a few steps:

14. How can I check the status of my booking?
You’ll need your booking reference starting with ZA and your surname. Otto will guide you from there.

1. Searching Flights
Tell Otto your departure city, destination, and travel dates.

Example: “Flights from JNB to CPT on 2025-09-10, return 2025-09-15.”

Otto will recognize if it’s one-way, round trip, or multi-city and give you a direct booking link.

By default, Otto shows the cheapest option for 1 adult in economy class. You can adjust filters later.

2. Booking Accommodation
Share your destination, check-in and check-out dates.

Otto provides a hotel booking link

3. Bus Travel (South Africa only)
Ask Otto about buses between SA cities.

Example: “Bus from Cape Town to Durban.”

4. Car Rentals
Ask Otto for a car rental at your destination.

No card needed upfront—pay at pickup.

5. Packages
Just tell Otto your destination.

Example: “Holiday packages to Zanzibar.”

6. Group Travel (10+ passengers)
Otto will guide you to: Group Travel.

7. Extras Otto Can Help With
Visa applications

Travel insurance.

Travel deals

8. Booking Support
Otto cannot cancel or change bookings but you can contact Travelstart directly:

WhatsApp: Chat with us
Call: +27 21 468 4300
Contact Form