Budget Hotel Aggregator Oyo Rooms Raises $100 Million

Online aggregator of budget hotels, Oyo Rooms on Monday said it has raised $100 million (about Rs 630 crores), led by SoftBank Group. The funding round also saw participation of existing investors Greenoaks Capital, Sequoia Capital and Lightspeed India.

Oyo will use the latest round of funding to implement new customer experience initiatives and build technology products, it said in a statement.

The firm had raised $25 million (about Rs. 157 crores) in its Series A in March this year. Its rivals include Tiger Global-backed Zo Rooms and Fabhotels.com (formerly Casa2Inns).

Launched in 2013, Oyo has a presence in over 70 cities with 12,000-plus available rooms. Their rooms start at Rs. 999 per night, unlike other hotel aggregators like Stayzilla, Triphobo, and Airbnb, the service claims to provide a standardised stay experience to business travellers. Using Oyo Rooms apps, customers can book hotel rooms with complimentary breakfast and Wi-Fi with 24x7 customer service support.

"We are at the forefront of solving a problem of lack of predictability of experience across hotels in the country. Our vision is to provide a standardised experience," Oyo Rooms founder and CEO Ritesh Agarwal said.

Agarwal was the first Asian resident to get $100,000 (about Rs. 64 lakhs) as a Thiel Fellow in  2013. 

Oyo operates in an asset-light hotel, tying up with existing hotels and "standardising the experience"

According to the company's partner page, hotels that partner with the chain see a significant increase in occupancy levels and revenues. Oyo provides a partner app to optimise operational activities and lower costs. Does not charge a transaction fee from hotels, instead charges a flat percent fee on the total monthly revenue.

With inputs from PTI