OYO Hotels & Homes, the world’s fastest growing hotel group, has rapidly expanded its footprint in London after entering into partnership with 30 local hotels since arriving in the UK last October.
Establishing its first four London properties in Pimlico, Paddington and Ilford in the last quarter of 2018, OYO accelerated its pace of growth in the first quarter of 2019.
In the past month alone, OYO has boosted its presence in the heart of the capital and its suburbs by over a third, now offering over 750 rooms across 30 hotels in locations as varied as Kings Cross, Camden, Bayswater, Wembley, Stratford and Southall.
With more agreements in the pipeline, OYO is set to reach its next milestone of 1,000 rooms in London before the peak summer season kicks off in July. London is one of 20 UK cities, towns and beach resorts that OYO has secured a presence in this year, with the company’s domestic portfolio spanning over 65 hotels and 1,400 rooms.
OYO works with independent hoteliers to improve their financial performance and enhance the customer experience. It is continuing to look for further investment opportunities in London and around the UK.
The hotels in the current London portfolio, which have an average of 24 rooms, are already seeing positive financial benefits. During April 2019, OYO delivered year-on-year room revenue uplift of 15% across its properties, outpacing the projection given by hotel data benchmarking company STR, which predicted a 4% uplift in revenue in London hotels over the same period.
Jeremy Sanders, Head of OYO Hotels & Homes UK, said, “London is a hugely attractive destination for holidaymakers and business travellers - it is set to be the world’s third most popular city for tourists this year.[i] But it has become an increasingly challenging market for local independent hotel owners who often struggle to compete with big branded players.
“OYO’s operational expertise, leading technology and transformational capabilities help independent hotel owners grow their businesses and give their guests a great experience. The 15% room revenue uplift we’ve delivered in London is proof of the value that OYO can add and we are excited to continue bringing such benefits to even more independent hoteliers in London and beyond.”
OYO launched in the UK - its first market outside of Asia - in October 2018. Through its proprietary technology, revenue management capabilities and operational expertise, the business works with independent hotel owners to improve their financial returns while ensuring guests have a great experience during each and every stay.
Its team of hospitality experts also works with owners to transform the property itself, often co-investing to improve infrastructure, standards and the look and feel of the hotel. OYO’s flexibility means that it can work with all types of hotel - business, leisure, metropolitan, rural, large or small - with the single aim of using its technology and hotel expertise to deliver value for hotel owners and customers alike.
Since being founded in India in 2013 by 25-year-old entrepreneur Ritesh Agarwal, OYO has become the world’s fastest growing hotel chain and the sixth largest hotel group in the world, with a network of over 18,000 franchised and leased hotels across 500 cities and 10 countries, including India, China and Japan. The business, which is backed by investors including Softbank, Airbnb, Sequoia and Lightspeed, plans to invest £40 million in the UK in 2019.