OYO Plans to End 2018 With 1,80,000 Keys

AFTER SUCCESSFULLY bringing down their losses by a third and doubling their booking value in 2017, OYO has planned to break-in 2018 with 60,000 keys and 3000 exclusively-branded hotels and apartments. Besides India, Malaysia and Nepal OYO is exploring South-East Asia market which is characterized by a similar supply-demand imbalance in real-estate and hospitality.

Ritesh Agarwal, Founder and CEO, OYO spoke to BW Hotelier about his upcoming plans for the year 2018. “We have developed capabilities to add up to 8,000 rooms per month and will end the year with 180,000 keys further extending our leadership over traditional hotel players and our emulators by more than 20X. In the coming year, we will serve customers through three brands - OYO Rooms, OYO Townhouse and OYO Home,” he told us.

Summarizing the growth of OYO in FY17, Agarwal said, “This year as we looked to expand supply, we also saw an opportunity in locked homes and our OYO Home team is working to build that pipeline for travellers. In May after launching OYO Rooms in Nepal, we have built our presence in Kathmandu and Pokhra. In addition, we raised a new round of financing of USD $260 million from existing investors and also brought two new investors to the table.”

Commenting upon the last funding round Agarwal said, “Our focus is on enhancing customer experience by investing in resources and technology and creating premium, self-managed hotels under the Townhouse brand. We will continue to invest in technology to innovate and outpace competition.”

In the process of making quality living-spaces more affordable and accessible, for travellers OYO is transforming India’s hospitality sector through industry-leading innovations such as 3-tap booking, Sunrise check-in, OYO Captain, OYO Townhouse and OYO 2.0. OYO is the first hospitality player in India to launch apps for the supplier side.

Agarwal feels that with one of the largest and fastest growing tourism industries in the world, India is poised to see a significant rise in travel in the years to come. “It is interesting to note emerging trends as decision-making power shifts to the millennial generation. We have witnessed a growing pattern of people staying in a hotel in the city of their residence for a weekend break or staycation. In 2018, we expect the trend of customer preference for brands over distributors to solidify further as their experiences and exposure increase,” he added.

 OYO’s journey started in June 2013 with an intention of providing reliable hospitality experience in the budget segment.  Having multiple formats in which OYO works with their partners – including franchise, manchise and leased, currently 90 per cent of their business is being driven by franchises.