OYO is open to business - commits to year long asset owner and franchisee partner program  

New Delhi, April 18, 2019: OYO Hotels & Homes - India’s largest, and the world's fastest-growing and 6th largest chain of hotels, homes and quality spaces - has today announced the launch of ‘OPEN’ (OYO Partner Engagement Network) to reiterate its commitment to asset owner success and start an industry-first series of year-long initiatives to help its 8700+ asset owner partners in India reach their business goals. Inaugurating the program, the company made 3 key announcements - 6 core partner promises, an upgraded Co-OYO app for asset owners to monitor progress and a dedicated microsite for stronger interaction and engagement amongst the OYO India asset owner community.

The program was launched in the presence of 9 OYO asset owners representing the 4 regions of the country where OYO operates - Mr. Varun Reddy from Bengaluru (South), Mr. Kunhabdulla U Methelapurayl and Mr. PM Iqbal from Mumbai, Mr. Keshav Baghel from Indore (West), Mr. Amol Dhir from Gurgaon and Ms. Sonal Gupta from Delhi (North), Mr. Durga Prasad Pattanaik from Bhubaneswar, Mr. Nausad Alam and Mr. Sunil Agarwal from Kolkata (East). On the occasion, a plaque of the 6 core promises were handed over to these asset owners. Throughout the month, these plaques of 6 core promises will be sent to each of the OYO Hotels in India.

Commenting on the launch of OPEN, Mr. Aditya Ghosh, CEO, India & South Asia said, “OYO today is the largest branded hotel chain in South Asia. It is proud to boast of the widest network of asset owner partners who have been a key comrade in our journey so far. With over 8700 asset owner partners spread across nearly 260 cities in India & South Asia, our asset owners are a rich source of advice and suggestions which help us get better everyday. Today with the launch of OPEN- OYO Partner Engagement Network, we are laying the foundations of a structured way of exchanging ideas, providing support and most importantly, building a relationship of trust on which we hope to build the next several decades to come. We are doing this in  several ways but in this fast moving world, being in touch on a real-time basis is key and therefore for the very first time in the hospitality industry, we are proud to launch the Co-OYO app which will transparently provide business metrics. At OYO, we are on a mission to create quality living spaces and make it accessible and affordable for millions of our customers and we cannot do this without the active support and encouragement of our asset owner partners.”

To strengthen our engagement with asset owners, OYO has today announced a set of 6 core promises. These include:-

1. Transparent payment protocols: Asset owners will receive 18% interest on delayed payments and resolution for exceptions will be done before the due date.
2. Financial Support: OYO will enable access to easier financing options for partners looking to make improvements through banks and other financial institutions with which it has forged partnerships
3. Multiple touch points to connect: OYO has launched a Central Response hotline (+91-9310777888) through which asset owners can directly share their queries and expect expeditious resolution. This channel is in addition to existing access to the on-ground teams to address all queries.
4. Marketing excellence: OYO shall provide asset owners prominence and assistance in leveraging various marketing channels including content and design support.
5. Tech Innovation: OYO’s technology capabilities are geared towards helping asset ownersstay ahead of the curve with leading technology solutions such as OYO OS, property management system and other technology-led interventions
6. Regulatory Compliance Assistance: OYO will also help asset owners navigate regulatory and compliance requirements for business continuity and provide access to pan-India list of  local legal and accounting firms that specialise in industry requirements.

Secondly, the company introduced an upgraded Co-OYO app, specially designed for partner franchisees to keep them updated on payment related information in one place. Through the Co-OYO app, asset owners in India can have complete visibility on cash flows, business performance, pricing, customer reviews and recommendations. The key benefits of the upgraded app include advanced analytics which enable a deep dive into asset performance over time, intuitive interface which is easy to navigate and make decisions regarding value-added services, boosting performance by providing insights and easy-to-understand metrics and graphs that allow for daily monitoring of performance.

Thirdly, a dedicated microsite for OPEN has also been launched. Hosted on the Co-OYO app, the microsite allows asset owners to both avail support programs for growth as well as engage with the OYO ecosystem and strengthen community building. It includes success stories of asset owners, featured posts on get-togethers, new signings, anniversaries, information on helpline numbers, access to financing options and other services. Additionally, there is also a section that provides an intuitive, on-the-go learning program through videos that can guide asset owners on basics as part of a starter kit or refresher program.

Durga Prasad Pattanaik, one of the asset owner partners from Bhubaneswar said, “I started my first hotel Railview in Bhubaneswar in May 2017. Initially, the occupancy at my hotel was low due to lack of marketing and operations support on-ground. Then I partnered with OYO in September 2017. The entire OYO team helped Railview in all aspects - operations, guest service, laundry set up etc. The occupancy level gradually picked up to 100% by December 2017. Then the Average Room Rate (ARR) slowly increased from INR 1300 to INR 1700 along with consistent occupancy. Currently, I am happy to share that 30 out of the 40 rooms are occupied by repeat customers.”   

OYO Hotels and Homes currently has over 8,700 asset owners in India, across 259+ cities with a room count of 173,000+ rooms. The company had announced an investment commitment of INR 1400 Crores for the current fiscal in India and South Asia last month.

• Launches OYO Partner Engagement Network (OPEN), a year long initiative with 6 core promises for 8700+ asset owners in India
• Introduces upgraded Co-OYO app for hotel partners to provide complete visibility on all business & customer metrics
• Launches a dedicated microsite to drive deeper engagement and provide virtual assistance tools  for OYO India’s 8700+ strong asset owner community

About OYO:

OYO is South Asia’s largest and the world’s fastest growing chain of hotels, homes & spaces! With footprints in more than 500 cities across 10 countries - India, China, Malaysia, Nepal, the UK, UAE, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, the Philippines and more recently Japan. With over 18,000 franchised or leased hotels in its chain and over 6000 homes. OYO is backed by leading investors, including the SoftBank Group, Greenoaks Capital, Sequoia India, Lightspeed India, Hero Enterprise and China Lodging Group. For more information, log on to https://www.oyorooms.com/

• 15+ cities in India have more than 200 OYO asset owners

• 1 out of 6 asset owners has more than one hotel with OYO                                                                              

• 640+ asset owners were able to clock INR 1 crore+ Gross Booking Value (GBV) with OYO in 2018