Oyo eyes 20,000 hotel rooms in PH

Oyo Hotels, India’s largest hotel chain, is expanding in the Philippines with a target to cover more than 20,000 rooms across the country.

After establishing its foothold in Southeast Asia with successful operations in Malaysia and Indonesia, Oyo Hotels found a ready market in the Philippines.

“We are here to create affordable living spaces. Being cool in this world is being affordable. There is a genuine problem that exists between the hospitality and real estate sector shaking the equilibrium between price location and quality,” said Oyo chief operating officer Abhinav Sinha.

“If you got a hotel with a great price and great quality, the location is far away from the city. Very inconvenient. If you are looking for a great location and quality, the price won’t be affordable. If you find a great price and a great location, then you worry about the quality. By using tech and bringing the new models of service to the hotels, you efficiently address affordability issues,” he said.

The hotel and hospitality chain is set to further expand its presence in Southeast Asia with the start of its operations in the Philippines.  Starting with over 21 franchised and leased hotels spread across Metro Manila, Tagaytay and Cebu, Oyo plans to penetrate more than 10 cities by 2020.

It committed to investing at least $50 million over the next few years with the mission of transforming its hospitality landscape in the country.

As a part of its continued commitment to the country, Oyo aims to generate more than 1,000 direct and indirect jobs that will help support the economic trajectory of the Philippines.

Launched in India in 2013, the tech-driven, full-scale hospitality chain works with small and independent hotels, while transforming them into quality living spaces, inducing operation efficiency through staff training, technology solutions for housekeeping, F&B and seamless experience for both guests and asset owners.

Oyo believes that neighborhood hotels possess the untapped potential of being at par with big chains in terms of both service and revenue per available room and is uniquely placed to bring this advantage to the asset owners in Philippines.

The company has been at the forefront of leased and franchised hotel revolution in India, China, Malaysia, Nepal, UK, UAE and  Indonesia.

“We are extremely excited to extend our quality-assured experience to travellers visiting the Philippines. Our priority here is to ensure that we bring Oyo Hotels’ top-notch service starting at P750 to the country, with the goal to become the most loved hotel chain,” Sinha said. 

“With the current 21 hotels, over 500 rooms we aim to grow to 10+ cities by 2020 while becoming a household name for both local and international travellers visiting the country. Our growth in the country will be fueled by a strong local leadership and a team of young hospitality enthusiasts. We look forward to a fruitful journey in the months to come,” he said.

Oyo kick-starts its Philippine operation with 21 franchised and leased hotels across Metro Manila, Tagaytay and Cebu with more than 500 exclusive rooms.

As part of its expansion plan in the country, Oyo is looking to launch  20,000 more rooms in more than 10 key areas all over the archipelago, including Palawan, Cebu, Boracay and Davao.

This means that by 2020, OYO would have created 1,000 jobs, further strengthening the hospitality and real estate industries in the country.

“At Oyo, our mission is to create a perfect space in every place by empowering hotel owners to become better hospitality players while ensuring an end-to-end controlled experience for our guests. With our technology and operational expertise, we are enabling hotel owners with technology and across South Asia demand reach, that will help them drastically improve the customer experience while maintaining efficiencies, high occupancy, and yields,” Sinha said.

“We’ve been responsible for enabling over 100,000 job opportunities in South Asia, and look forward to creating 1000+ direct and indirect jobs in the Philippines by 2020,” Sinha said.

Oyo is backed by leading global investors including the SoftBank Group, Lightspeed India, Sequoia Capital, Greenoaks Capital, Hero Enterprise and China Lodging Group.