Indians love Valentine’s Day - OYO’s Love Index 2019 records a whooping 112% increase in bookings

New Delhi, February 13, 2019: Valentine’s Day is no longer limited to the celebration of love between couples, but has increasingly become an opportunity for friends and families to bond and connect as per the Valentine’s Day booking statistics revealed by OYO, South Asia’s largest and the world’s fastest-growing chain of hotels, homes, and spaces. OYO’s Love Index 2019 revealed that bookings have seen a 112% increase so far as compared to the same period last year and are expected to go up by over 150% as we move closer to Valentine’s Day. While OYO received 63% of bookings from couples, friends and family stood at 22% approximately which is a significant increase from last year. For these couples, the most preferred destination was Goa followed by Delhi and Bangalore while maximum single bookings were made in the capital city, Delhi.

Interestingly, the first booking for Valentine’s Day 2019 was received by OYO almost a year ago on 25 Feb 2018. Also, app bookings were 6.5X times of web showcasing the growing preference of Indians to use an app to make a booking against other channels. This is also a testament to how unlike most other hospitality companies, OYO continues to see an increase in bookings via direct channels.

On the growing popularity of Valentine’s Day vacations and the interesting trends, Burhanuddin Pithawala, Vice President, Conversions, OYO Hotels & Homes, said, “While Valentine’s Day celebrations have been popular in the country for the last decade or more, the way it is celebrated across the country is now evolving. Consumers are increasingly looking at this as an opportunity to travel and celebrate with their loved ones, including family and friends, not just their partner. We believe that the aggressive expansion and growth of the travel & hospitality industry as a whole and the availability of affordable good quality travel and accommodation options at every consumer touch point has triggered this change. Understanding this need, we at OYO are constantly working towards increasing our capacity and offering good quality accommodations at affordable prices for the masses, in not just popular but emerging tourist destinations across the country.”

OYOs Love Index also throws light on consumer behaviour and trends in the international markets. Kuala-Lumpur, Jakarta and Kathmandu registered maximum bookings in Malaysia, Indonesia and Nepal respectively. Malaysia recorded a 613% increase in bookings in comparison to last year. Similar consumer behaviour was observed in these countries, with couple bookings contributing the maximum to the overall bookings followed by friends and family bookings.

- While couples top the list in terms of bookings with 63%, there is a significant increase in family bookings at 26% vis a vis last year

- The City of beaches, Goa, registers maximum booking followed by Delhi & Bangalore

About OYO Hotels & Homes:

OYO Hotels & Homes is South Asia’s largest, one of China’s top five, and the world’s fastest-growing chain of hotels, homes, and spaces, with footprints in more than 500 cities across India, China, Malaysia, Nepal, the UK, the UAE, Indonesia and more recently the Philippines. OYO Hotels & Homes is one of a kind and has pioneered the world’s first full-scale technology-led business model in the hospitality and real estate industry. It currently operates over 13,000 franchised or leased hotels and over 6,000 homes as part of its chain. In India, OYO is present in over 180 cities, and hosts guests in over 8700+ properties, in over 170,000 rooms. OYO is backed by leading investors, the SoftBank Group, Sequoia India, Lightspeed India, Hero Enterprise and China Lodging Group.