Oyo Rooms Explained

Oyo Rooms
Type:	Private
Trade Name:	OYO Rooms OYO Hotels and Homes
Industry:	Hospitality
Founded:	^[1]
Location:	Gurgaon, Haryana, India^[2] ^[3]
Founder:	Ritesh Agarwal
Key People:	Ritesh Agarwal, Founder and Group CEO
Num Employees:	1,330 (2023)^[4]
Revenue:	(FY23)^[5]
Net Income:	(FY23)
Assets:	(2021)
Area Served:	Asia, Europe and Americas

OYO Rooms (stylised as OYO), also known as OYO Hotels & Homes, is an Indian multinational hospitality chain of leased and franchised hotels, homes, and living spaces.^{[6] [7] [8]} Founded in 2012 by Ritesh Agarwal, OYO initially consisted mainly of budget hotels.^[1] As of January 2020, it has more than 43,000 properties and 1 million rooms across 800 cities in 80 countries.^[9]

History

In 2012, Ritesh Agarwal launched Oravel Stays as a budget accommodation listing and booking website, later renamed to OYO in 2013.^[10] Shortly after launching Oravel Stays, Ritesh Agarwal received a grant of $100,000 as part of the Thiel Fellowship, a two-year program from PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel.^{[11] [12]}

In March 2016, OYO acquired the team of Qlik Pass, founded by Rahul Gupta and Rishi Swami, to set up and lead its data science department.^[13]

In March 2018, OYO acquired Chennai-based service apartment operator, Novascotia Boutique Homes,^{[14] [15]} to establish its presence in the service apartment and corporate executive stay segment. It further acquired Weddingz.in, a Mumbai-based online marketplace for wedding venues and vendors, marking its entry into the fragmented $40-billion wedding industry.^[16]

In 2019, OYO had over 17,000 employees globally,^{[17] [18]} of which approximately 8000 are in India and South Asia. OYO Hotels & Homes was a full-fledged hotel chain that leases and franchises assets. The company invests in capex,^[19] hires general managers to oversee operations and customer experience, and generates around a million job opportunities in India^[20] and South Asia alone. OYO set up 26 training institutes for hospitality enthusiasts across India in 2019.^[21]

In 2019, OYO and Airbnb announced a strategic partnership where OYO would list their properties in the Airbnb platform.^[22] In March 2019, OYO announced a 1400 crore investment in its India and South Asia businesses to increase infrastructure, strengthen technology and internal capability.^[23] In April 2019, OYO announced a strategic global distribution partnership with Hotelbeds.^[24] The company also announced two joint-venture with Softbank^[25] and Yahoo! Japan in 2019.^[25] In May 2019, OYO announced the acquisition of Amsterdam-based @Leisure Group, Europe's largest vacation rental company.^[26] In July 2019, OYO announced the acquisition of Innov8, a co-working space in New Delhi.^[27] In August 2019, Oyo made its first major investment in the United States by purchasing the Hooters Casino Hotel, near the Las Vegas Strip, in partnership with US-based real estate company Highgate, for $135 million.^{[28] [29]} In September 2019, Oyo announced the acquisition of the Copenhagen-based data science firm Danamica for an disclosed amount. Danamica specialised in dynamic pricing of rental properties via machine learning models.^[30] In May 2022 OYO announced the acquisition of Europe-based company 'Direct Booker' with the transaction valuing the latter at around USD 5.5 million (over Rs 40 crore). Direct Booker has over 3,200 homes and serviced 20 lakh customers so far, OYO said in a statement.^[31]

In April 2019, the company announced the launch of OPEN programme, an initiative for its partner hotels to help them reach their business goals. It further Introduced an upgraded Co-OYO app for hotel partners to provide complete visibility on all business & customer metrics.^[32]

In June 2021, Oyo Rooms collaborated with Yatra, Airbnb, and EaseMyTrip to form the Confederation of Hospitality, Technology and Tourism Industry (CHATT), an industry body for the tourism sector of India.^[33]

In October 2021, OYO appointed paralympian Deepa Malik as an independent director on the company's board of directors.^[34] In December 2021, OYO onboarded former State Bank of India (SBI) Chairman Rajnish Kumar as its strategic group advisor.^[35]

Funding

The company's current and former investors include SoftBank Group, Didi Chuxing, Greenoaks Capital, Sequoia India, Lightspeed India, Hero Enterprise, Airbnb and China Lodging Group.

In September 2018, OYO raised $1 billion, of which the RoC filing for the amount of $100 million raised from Star Virtue Investment Ltd. was made on 13 February 2019.^{[36] [37]}

In February 2019, OYO received $100 million funding from the Chinese vehicle-for-hire company, Didi Chuxing.^[38] In July 2019, Ritesh Agarwal, through RA Hospitality Holdings in Cayman Islands,^{[39] [40]} signed a $2 billion deal to buy back shares from existing investors, Lightspeed Venture Partners and Sequoia India, to increase his stake in the company to 30%.^[41] The company was valued at $10 billion with this deal.^{[42] [43]} In October 2019, OYO raised Series F funding of $1.5 billion led by SoftBank Group, Lightspeed Venture Partners and Sequoia India.^[44]

In July 2021, OYO closed a debt financing round of $660 million from global institutional investors to service existing loans.^[45] In July 2021, Microsoft expressed interest to invest in OYO before its IPO^[46] and a multi-year strategic deal was signed in September 2021.^[47] In October 2021, Oyo filed its draft red herring prospectus with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to raise 1.2 billion through an initial public offering.^[48]

In January 2022, more than 500 current and former employees of OYO, purchased around 3 crore shares in the company. The total value of these shares can be approximated to about, as per the last valuation of OYO of $9.6 billion.^[49]

In June 2024, Oyo held another round of funding, raising between $100 and $125 million. The company was valued at $2.5 billion, down over 70% from the previous valuation in 2019.^[50]

Financials

Year	Revenue (In crores)	Profits/Loss (In crores)	Source
FY 2019	6,329		^[51]
FY 2020	13,168
FY 2021	3961
FY 2022	4781		^[52]
FY 2023	5464		^[53]

Products and services

OYO Rooms operates the following brands for its properties and services:

• OYO Townhouse - operates in the midscale hospitality segment.^[54]
• OYO Home - home management system that offers private homes in different locations and are fully managed by OYO.^{[55] [56]}
• OYO Vacation Homes - vacation home brand with vacation rental management brands Belvilla,^[57] Danland,^[26] and DanCenter,^[58] along with Germany-based Traum-Ferienwohnungen.
• SilverKey - hotel brand focused on corporate travellers^{[59] [60]}
• Capital O offers hotel booking services.^[61]
• Palette, an upscale leisure resorts category.^{[62] [63]}
• Collection O offers booking and renting services to business travellers.^{[64] [65]}
• OYO LIFE is targeted at long-term rentals.^{[66] [67]}
• YO! HELP is a self-help tool that offers support for check-ins, check-outs, and payments ^[68]
• OYO 360 is a self onboarding tool to list your property on OYO.^{[69] [70] [71] [72]}

Criticism

• In November 2015, Oyo signed a term sheet to acquire Zostel's Zo Rooms in an all-stock deal which would give Zostel's founders and investors a combined 7% stake in Oyo.^[73] In February 2016, Oyo's biggest stakeholder SoftBank announced in its earnings report that the acquisition was completed.^[74] However, in October 2017, Oyo stated that the deal was called-off and the "non-binding term sheet" for the deal had expired in September 2016.^[75] Zostel claimed that the term sheet was binding and it had transferred its business to Oyo which in turn failed to transfer the 7% stake.^[76] In 2018, Zostel approached the Supreme Court of India, which appointed former Chief Justice of India, A. M. Ahmadi as the sole arbitrator to resolve the dispute.^[77] In March 2021, Ahmadi ruled that the term sheet was binding and Zostel was entitled to execute the definitive agreements in the contract.^[78] In October 2021, Zostel wrote to the Securities and Exchange Board of India, seeking a stay on Oyo's IPO and claiming that Oyo's "capital structure is not final."^[79] In February 2022, the Delhi High Court rejected Zostel's appeal for a 7% stake in Oyo.^[80]
• In 2018, OYO has been accused of using predatory pricing and not following its own agreements including threatening hotels to unilaterally change some of the clauses or not be paid.^[81]
• In 2018, the company sent mass unsolicited job offer emails targeting senior- and mid-level employees of competitors.^[82]
• In 2019, OYO planned to implement a digital register mechanism which will allow it to share customer data in real-time with the government. This was described as a threat to privacy.^{[83] [84]}
• In April 2021, the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) initiated an insolvency resolution process on OYO on the basis of a hotelier's petition over a monetary dispute with the company.^{[85] [86]}

Notes and References

1. News: Online short-stay accommodation venture Oravel raises funds . The Economic Times . 15 October 2012 . 25 April 2022.
2. News: Kaushik . Manu . 18 February 2020 . Mystery of the Oyo Rooms . Business Today . 23 January 2024.
3. Web site: OYO . LinkedIn . 13 February 2022 . 23 January 2024.
4. News: Employees, ex-staff of IPO-bound OYO buy around 3 crore shares . 25 April 2022 . Mint . 3 January 2022 . en.
5. News: Oyo narrows losses in FY23 at Rs 1,287 crore, revenue stands at Rs 5,464 crore . Moneycontrol . 27 October 2023 . 27 January 2024.
6. News: Sahay . Priyanka . With 8.5 lakh rooms, Oyo claims third spot globally . 25 April 2022 . Moneycontrol . 10 July 2019 . en.
7. News: Soni . Sandeep . How OYO became India's 3rd best company to work for in just 6 years . 25 April 2022 . Financial Express . 7 April 2019 . en.
8. News: Gooptu . Biswarup . Oyo Hotels: Have become the second-largest hotel group in China: Oyo . 25 April 2022 . The Economic Times . 22 May 2019.
9. Kaushik . Manu . 8 March 2020 . Mystery of the Oyo Rooms . 25 April 2022 . Business Today.
10. News: Paramita . Chatterjee . 16 May 2017 . How OYO's Ritesh Agarwal transformed the business of budget accommodation . . 11 April 2021.
11. News: Bergen . Mark . 10 May 2013 . Oravel founder Ritesh Agarwal wins Thiel Fellowship . 11 April 2021 . Mint.
12. News: Shona . Ghosh . 22 September 2018 . Ritesh Agarwal: Interview with founder of Peter Thiel-backed Oyo . . 11 April 2021 . subscription.
13. News: OYO Rooms hires 3 senior executives . . 23 March 2016. 26 March 2020.
14. News: OYO acquires Chennai's Novascotia Boutique Homes . Biswarup . Gooptu . . 18 March 2018. 26 March 2020.
15. News: Oyo acquires Chennai-based Novascotia Boutique Homes to expand corporate offering . . 19 March 2018 . 26 March 2020.
16. News: OYO acquires wedding marketplace Weddingz . . 11 August 2018. 26 March 2020.
17. News: OYO to add over 3,000 employees in India . 11 April 2021 . . 21 August 2019.
18. News: OYO plans mass recruitment in India to boast of 12k staff by year-end . 11 April 2021 . KrASIA . 22 August 2019.
19. News: OYO announces Rs 1,400 crore investments, launches new property 'Collection O' targeting millennials . 11 April 2021 . . 26 June 2019.
20. News: Have created over 1 lakh direct and indirect jobs in India: OYO . . 10 April 2019.
21. News: OYO opens Gurgaon campus, plans to launch a skill training center . 11 April 2021 . . 6 September 2019.
22. News: Russell . Jon . 1 April 2019 . Airbnb confirms stake in India's OYO, sources say it invested $150M-$200M . . 26 March 2020.
23. News: OYO plans ₹1,400-cr. expansion . . 12 March 2019 . 26 March 2020.
24. News: 15 April 2019. Hotelbeds & Oyo Hotels & Homes announce strategic distribution partnership. The Economic Times. 26 March 2020.
25. Web site: 23 February 2019. OYO enters Japan via JV with Yahoo Japan, to bring housing rental product. 7 October 2021. The Financial Express. en-US.
26. News: Anumeha . Chaturvedi . 2 May 2019 . OYO plans ₹1,400-cr. expansion . . 26 March 2020.
27. News: India's budget hotel startup Oyo enters co-working business with $30 million Innov8 acquisition . . 16 July 2019 . 26 March 2020.
28. Web site: Oyo buys Las Vegas Hooters Hotel in its first US purchase. 23 August 2019 . 29 August 2019.
29. News: India's Oyo Rolls Dice With Purchase of Las Vegas Hooters Hotel. Morris. Keiko. Wall Street Journal. 23 August 2019. en-US. 29 August 2019.
30. News: Singh . Manish . 2 September 2019 . India's Oyo acquires Copenhagen-based data science firm Danamica for $10M . TechCrunch . 21 May 2024.
31. News: Press Trust of India . 10 May 2022 . OYO completes acquisition of Europe-based company Direct Booker . Business Standard India . 11 May 2022.
32. News: 18 April 2019. OYO launches OPEN programme for asset owners. The Economic Times.
33. News: Alawadhi. Neha. 9 June 2021. CHATT: New association announced, will help tourism, hospitality with tech. Business Standard India. 7 October 2021.
34. News: Oyo appoints Indian woman Paralympics medallist Deepa Malik as independent director. The Economic Times. Chaturvedi. Anumeha.
35. News: Oyo ropes in former SBI chairman Rajnish Kumar as strategic group advisor. The Economic Times. Chaturvedi. Anumeha.
36. News: China's Didi Chuxing invests $100 million in Oyo . . 14 February 2019 . 26 March 2020.
37. Web site: India's Oyo seeks over $1 billion in IPO, eyes $12 billion valuation. 19 January 2022. TechCrunch. en-US.
38. News: Gooptu. Biswarup. Sharma. Samidha. Oyo gets $100 million from China's ride-hailing giant Didi Chuxing. The Economic Times. 27 October 2020.
39. News: Oyo: Ritesh Agarwal's Cayman based firm to bring funds to Oyo . 25 April 2022 . . 17 July 2019.
40. News: Priyadarshan . Chetan . 18 July 2019 . Ritesh Agarwal sets up RA Hospitality in Cayman Islands to drive Oyo funding . . 25 April 2022.
41. News: Peerzada . Abrar . 19 July 2019 . Ritesh Agarwal to deploy $2 billion in his hotel startup OYO to boost stake . . 26 March 2020.
42. News: Clark . Kate . India's Oyo valued at $10B after founder purchases $2B in shares . 25 April 2022 . . 19 July 2019.
43. News: Russell . John . India's budget hotel startup OYO raises $1B for international growth . 25 April 2022 . TechCrunch . 25 September 2018.
44. News: Singh . Manish . Ritesh Agarwal to invest $700M in Oyo's new $1.5B financing round . 25 April 2022 . TechCrunch . 7 October 2019.
45. News: Mishra. Digbijay. Eye on revival, Oyo secures $660 million debt. The Economic Times. 17 July 2021.
46. News: Microsoft looks to invest in Oyo before potential IPO. 30 July 2021. Business Today. 27 January 2022.
47. Web site: Microsoft makes strategic investment in Oyo. 7 October 2021. TechCrunch. en-US.
48. News: Oyo joins startup IPO rush to raise $1.2 billion, seeks Sebi nod . 25 April 2022 . The Economic Times . 1 October 2021.
49. News: PTI . Over 500 employees, ex-staff of IPO-bound OYO buy around 3 crore shares - Times of India . 25 April 2022 . The Times of India . 3 January 2022 . en.
50. Web site: Singh . Manish . India's Oyo, once valued at $10B, finalizes new funding at $2.5B valuation . TechCrunch . 17 June 2024 . 17 June 2024.
51. Web site: Oyo Restated Financial . www.icicisecurities.com . 30 September 2021 . 17 September 2023.
52. Web site: Manchanda . Harsh Upadhyay & Kunal . 20 September 2022 . Decoding Oyo's financial health in FY22 . 5 October 2022 . Entrackr . en-US.
53. Web site: NA . INC42 . 15 July 2024 . How OYO Turned Around Its Fortunes In 2024 . 3 August 2024 . Startupnews . en-US.
54. News: Chaturvedi. Anumeha. 24 January 2017. Budget hotel chain OYO launches OYO Townhouse. The Economic Times. 11 April 2021.
55. News: In trying to be the Indian Airbnb, OYO may be turning too cumbersome . Bhattacharya. Ananya . . 21 September 2017.
56. News: Unlocking Homes for Great Holiday Experiences . OYO Rooms . 15 September 2017.
57. News: Ingrid . Lunden . 1 May 2019 . Airbnb-backed OYO moves into Europe, buys Leisure Group from Axel Springer for $415M . . 11 April 2021.
58. News: Singh . Manish . 14 August 2019 . Oyo to invest $335M in vacation rental business in Europe push . . 11 April 2021.
59. News: Gooptu . Biswarup . OYO Rooms: OYO to scale up its SilverKey hotels portfolio to 19 cities across India . 11 April 2021 . The Economic Times . 3 April 2019.
60. News: Modi . Ajay . OYO plans big focus on serviced apartments for corporate clients . 11 April 2021 . . 18 April 2018.
61. News: India's Oyo launches Capital O hotels in the UAE . 11 April 2021 . . 16 July 2019.
62. News: Oyo forays into leisure segment with Palette Resorts . 26 April 2022 . . 30 August 2018.
63. News: Chaturvedi . Anumeha . OYO forays into upper-end leisure resorts category; launches Palette Resorts . 25 April 2022 . The Economic Times . 30 August 2018.
64. News: OYO woos biz travellers with Collection O; ups investment . 25 April 2022 . . 13 March 2019.
65. News: OYO's Collection O Hotels reaches milestone 175 buildings in 3 months . 25 April 2022 . . 13 July 2019.
66. News: Why OYO Life is betting big on the co-living market in India . 25 April 2022 . . 9 May 2019.
67. News: Khan . Sobia . Oyo Hotels: Oyo looks to enter student housing and co-working, to expand co-living segments . 25 April 2022 . The Economic Times . 6 May 2019.
68. News: Yo! Help comes to Oyo's rescue . . 18 August 2020 . 26 August 2020.
69. Web site: OYO launches self-onboarding tool for small hotels, home-owners . 6 January 2022 . 6 January 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220106091129/https://www.outlookindia.com/newsscroll/oyo-launches-selfonboarding-tool-for-small-hotels-homeowners/2151799 . dead .
70. News: PTI. 1 September 2021. OYO Launches Self-onboarding Tool For Small Hotels, Home-owners. Moneycontrol.com. 27 January 2022.
71. News: PTI. 1 September 2021. OYO launches self-onboarding tool for small hotels, home-owners. The Times of India. 27 January 2022.
72. News: PTI . 1 September 2021 . OYO launches self-onboarding tool for small hotels, home-owners . . 27 January 2022.
73. News: Shrivastava . Aditi . Chanchani . Madhav . 17 December 2015 . Oyo Rooms to acquire Zo Rooms in an all-stock deal . 25 April 2022 . The Economic Times.
74. News: Sahay . Priyanka . Oyo Rooms has acquired Zo Rooms: SoftBank . 25 April 2022 . mint . 10 February 2016 . en.
75. News: Russell . John . The deal that never was: OYO says it didn't acquire rival ZO Rooms after all . 25 April 2022 . The Pharmaceutical Journal . 27 October 2017 . 10.1211/pj.2018.20205559.
76. News: Zostel-Oyo tussle intensifies . 25 April 2022 . The Hindu Business Line . 11 October 2021 . en.
77. News: Gooptu . Biswarup . Shrivastava . Aditi . 3 October 2018 . OYO-Zo Rooms: SC sends OYO-Zo Rooms dispute for arbitration . 25 April 2022 . The Economic Times.
78. News: Kaushik . Manu . 16 March 2021 . Will Oyo be forced to give 7% equity to Zostel? . 25 April 2022 . Business Today . en.
79. News: Mishra . Digbijay . 11 October 2021 . Zostel asks Sebi to reject and suspend Oyo's $1.2-billion IPO . 25 April 2022 . The Economic Times.
80. News: Oyo IPO: Delhi HC rejects Zostel's petition for stake in firm . 25 April 2022 . Business Standard India . 15 February 2022.
81. News: Chaturvedi . Anumeha . Budget hotels teaming up to take legal route against Oyo . 25 April 2022 . . 1 December 2018.
82. News: S.H . Salman . All's fair in talent war: Oyo targets staff at rivals . 25 April 2022 . Mint . 27 April 2018 . en.
83. Oyo Rooms wants to share digital record of your check-ins with government . 25 April 2022 . . 15 January 2019.
84. Web site: 16 February 2023 . Privacy Policy . 28 June 2023 . casino-bambet.com . en-US.
85. News: Fact Check: Is OYO Filing for Bankruptcy? Here's What Company CEO Has to Say About it . 10 April 2021 . News18 . 9 April 2021 . en.
86. News: Oyo news: Founder Ritesh Agarwal denies reports of Oyo filing for bankruptcy . 11 April 2021 . The Times of India . 7 April 2021 . en.