OYO says it is reducing the time it takes to bring new hotels and homes into its system, from 15 days to just 30 minutes, with the launch of a new
self-service onboarding tool.
OYO 360 provides enrollment with just two clicks, the company
says, and offers growth, partnership and network benefits.
OYO says more than 70% of property owners that join its system are
new to online distribution but, after listing with OYO, its partners capture
80% of their demand digitally, based on global averages.
Once property owners input information such as hotel description
and amenities and upload photos, OYO 360 uses artificial intelligence to check
for image quality and automatically categorize images.
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“With technology as a driver and data powering every
touchpoint of the journey of our patrons including small hotel and homeowners,
OYO is carving a niche in the hospitality world with its diverse tech and
product offerings,” says Rohit Kapoor, CEO of OYO INSEA.
“OYO 360 is a big bet to accelerate supply acquisition and
enhance the overall experience by making onboarding simpler and convenient. It
aims to provide direct control on pricing, increasing occupancies and
visibility on simplified contracts and reconciliation processes.”
In July, OYO
secured a loan of $660 million, followed in August by a $5 million
investment from Microsoft, based on filings with India’s Ministry of Corporate
Affairs, according to multiple sources.
The funding has sparked aggressive hiring – two weeks ago OYO announced
it will hire more than 300 technology professionals over the next six months.
On its blog, the company says: “The travel technology player is set to introduce several innovations
and commit to investments in
technology, further optimizing revenues for hotel owners, while improving user
experience for customers. We have an expansive tech stack of 50+
products and 500+ microservices. ... The hiring will play a critical role in
accelerating our transformation to a global full-stack technology provider for
small and mid-sized hotels and homes.”
According
to TechCrunch and several other outlets, OYO is preparing to file an
initial public offering, possibly later this year.
OYO raised $7.4 million in a Series F round in January, which
followed a massive $1.5 billion round in late 2019. The company has more than 44,000
hotels and 125,000 vacation homes in more than 80 countries.