OYO celebrates 50 UK hotels with GBP 40m investment

By the end of April this year, OYO Hotels & Homes, now the sixth largest hotel chain in the world, expects to open its 50th hotel in the UK. 

The fast-growing hospitality chain launched in the UK back in October 2018, and so far, it has opened 30 hotels across the UK including properties in London, Birmingham, Manchester, Blackpool and Edinburgh — and built a team of over 100 employees working in business development, operations, transformation, marketing and other functions.

OYO’s business is backed by investors including Softbank, Airbnb, Sequoia and Lightspeed, which plans to invest GBP 40 million in the UK in 2019.

“Encouraged by our progress”

Jeremy Sanders, head of OYO Hotels & Homes UK, said: “We are extremely excited to have launched in the UK, and are very encouraged by our progress so far. We are delighted to have already partnered with so many amazing independent hotel owners from across the country and look forward to working with many more.”

Since being founded in India in 2013 by 25-year-old entrepreneur Ritesh Agarwal, OYO has grown a network of over 18,000 franchised and leased hotels across 500 cities and 10 countries including India and China.

Its launch in the UK, the first market outside of Asia, marks a major milestone for the company’s international growth. Sanders, an entrepreneur and the co-founder of the restaurant chain, Coco di Mama, was appointed late last year to lead the business in the UK.

“The most sophisticated hospitality market in the world”

Sanders added: “This is the most sophisticated hospitality market in the world — there is a lot of competitive pressure, but also a lot of opportunity for the right offering that is well executed. A combination of our technology, investment and hotel expertise empowers independent hotel owners to take that opportunity and thrive.”