HERALD: What has Oyo’s experience in India been like?
ROHIN PINTO: At Oyo, we are committed towards our mission of tackling the lack of equilibrium between demand and supply of quality living space. Using in-house technology and talent to fix this socio-economic problem, we started our journey in 2013 and since then have transformed over 5,000 hotels. Oyo’s idea was incubated in a single hotel and our genesis lies in creating beautiful living spaces and changing the way people stay away from home. We entered the market with a strong understanding of the space and enjoy strong customer confidence and recall. In a span of five years, Oyo has emerged as South Asia’s largest hospitality chain with a presence in more than 160 cities in India, China, Malaysia and Nepal. We have successfully created a brand that resonates quality for our customers while running a successful business for our asset partners. We’ve expanded our portfolio across multiple brands including Oyo Rooms in the budget category and Oyo Townhouse, Oyo Home, Oyo SilverKey in the mid-market category with the intent of providing customers with a reliable option wherever their travel takes them by creating quality beautiful living spaces.
HERALD: How many properties do you have in Goa?
RP: Considering that Goa is one of the most important destinations on India’s tourism map, it has been equally critical for Oyo as well. The local community, hotel partners and State govt have all been very supportive to Oyo. We have also witnessed exponential growth in the number of properties and our occupancy rate. Our current network in Goa comprises of over 5000 exclusive rooms and we recently introduced Oyo Townhouse in Goa which is located in Ashwem. The State has a huge market and opportunities for hospitality players. We saw this potential while launching our Oyo Home category. As per estimates, there are more than 85,000 locked residential homes in the city, and to capture and utilise this market we launched this new category. Our plan is to expand further in the market by launching more such properties. In a brief period of time, we have expanded the number of homes in Goa to 700.
HERALD: What are the preferences of the Indian consumer coming to Goa?
RP: Goa as a tourist destination is majorly driven by millennial travellers and today, their travel behaviour has witnessed a huge change. With growing technology adoption and the ease of mobile-enabled transactions, new trends in consumer behaviours are emerging and Goa is no exception. Impulse planning is a clear trend among millennials. Despite last-minute decision-making, travellers’ expectations in terms of service, facilities and experience are growing more pre-determined and non-negotiable. Today, WiFi, breakfast and room hygiene are few of the basic expectations that travellers are looking for. Thus the onus on travel partners such as hoteliers is to ensure consistent, high-quality service delivery. This phenomenon of impulse planning while seeking standardized services represents an attitudinal shift in Indians, particularly within the millennial and Gen Z demographic. Consumers want complete freedom to choose, change and decide at a moment’s notice, but the quality and consistency of service are non-negotiable.
HERALD: What can one expect from Oyo in the next couple of years?
RP: At Oyo, we continuously try to innovate to enhance the customer experience by offering beautiful and quality living spaces. Our long-term vision is to standardize and introduce efficiency in all forms of real estate such as budget hotels, apartments, guesthouses, and resorts. For the next few years, our focus is to go deeper into our existing markets and expanding to unfragmented markets in the need of quality accommodation while delighting guests.
HERALD: How is Oyo devising tech and allied capabilities to boost conventional hospitality?
RP: Technology and innovation play an important role in driving new business practices in the hospitality industry. A hotel owner from Goa, the story of Edgar Cotta, is a perfect example of how the integration of technology has helped usher a major transformation in the hospitality business.
Edgar Cotta quit his job and forayed into hospitality by taking ownership of a family property named ‘Village Royale’ in Calangute. At that juncture, he faced many challenges, including no business during the off-season and low occupancy. During those days of struggle, Edgar kept contemplating how to make his business more profitable. That’s when he heard about Oyo and decided to partner with the hospitality chain. We assisted him by upgrading the property to match Oyo standards. Oyo’s team of on-ground, civil experts work round-the-clock to ensure hotel offerings, room amenities and overall services are standardised, promoting better customer experiences. The hotel chain has a 300-people strong team that helps in the transformation process at a quick pace. In stark contrast to industry practices, Oyo can transform its partner hotels in a span of 3-14 days. This results in hotels receiving top-notch transformation and staff training to deliver as per guest expectations.
