Chinmay Bidkar
07 September 2017, India:
One of India’s leading hotel aggregator OYO Rooms have raised a whopping $250 Million in the latest round of funding led by SoftBank Vision Fund and Hero Enterprise as per the report by ET. The round also saw participation from the existing investors Lightspeed Venture Partners, Sequoia Capital and Greenoakes Capital.
The fresh funds will be utilized for expanding the business on a larger scale in South-east Asia. Ritesh Agarwal, Founder and CEO of OYO Rooms told ET, “We are looking at a few markets… South-east Asia is a clear favorite, because we are already operating there, and understand how it works. It will be a natural process, but we are also looking at more mature geographies.”
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“Some of our competitors have launched their own white-label brands to compete with us. But at the end of the day, are you able to deliver the customer service that the consumer wants, along with the asset management that partner is looking for, rather than a sales discounting service? Our numbers speak for themselves,” He added. “Our net take rate is in higher double-digits, and close to 15%-plus, which is an industry-leading metric, at a time when others are just raising capital and burning it,” Agarwal said.
“OYO has solidified its position in India as the leading accommodation brand for consumer affordability and high-quality standards. We’re excited to continue to support OYO as they further expand their position in India and bring the OYO promise of affordability and elevated hospitality to other markets around the world,” Justin Wilson, SoftBank’s board representative in Oyo, said in a statement.
“The differentiated thinking and ingenuity that Ritesh and his team bring to this industry gives us confidence that OYO can scale, innovate and set new benchmarks in customer experience,” Sunil Kant Munjal, chairman of Hero Enterprise, said.
Founded by Ritesh Agarwal in 2013, OYO is one of India’s largest branded network of hotels. Its network currently spans over 200 Indian cities including all major metros, regional commercial hubs, leisure destinations, and key pilgrimage towns. The company’s vision is to become the most preferred and trusted hotel brand in the world. (Source and Image- ET)
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