India’s leading hospitality startup OYO has now ventured into the UK market, marking its first expansion outside Asia. Earlier this year in June, the Softbank-backed Indian hospitality giant had ventured into the China market.
The startup plans to invest £40 million into the UK, as it looks to expand to 10 cities including Manchester, Birmingham, Glasgow, and Edinburgh by 2020. It will be starting its operations with four properties in London, offering over 80 rooms. OYO plans to increase that number to 5,000 in the next 15-18 months.
British Entrepreneur Jeremy Sanders, Co-Founder of Coco di Mama, a British restaurant chain, will be heading OYO’s UK business.
“I am very excited to be leading OYO’s expansion into the UK, one of the most dynamic hospitality markets in the world. We want to become the trusted partner of independent hotels across the UK and, as we’ve experienced in Asia, we are confident that our bespoke technology and operational expertise brings real value to hotel owners and customers alike,” said Sanders.
OYO will be entering the UK market with OYO Townhouse, operating these properties under the manchise model, lease with full – inventory control similar to other markets like India and China.
OYO Townhouse is aimed at providing trusted and affordable hotel options for both Indian and international tourists, business travellers, and local city dwellers.
Gurugram-based OYO was founded by Ritesh Agarwal in 2013. Over the last seven years, OYO has captured the Indian market and expanded its presence to over 369 cities across global markets including India, China, Malaysia, Nepal, and now the UK.
As OYO keeps aggressively expanding into new overseas markets, it has also ventured into different verticals to further widen its umbrella.
In July 2018, OYO announced its foray into the wedding industry with new Auto Party venture. Later in August, OYO acquired wedding planning startup Weddingz, to strengthen its wedding vertical.