OYO to expand Asia footprint; introduces concierge service

Online budget network of hotels OYO is planning to expand its footprints in South Asia and South East Asia, besides strengthening its service by introducing a concierge service called OYO Captains.

"Our focus is expanding in the domestic market as we still feel there is a huge opportunity here in the country. We are continuously trying to bring in new products and services to our customers for a better travel experience. However, we are also looking at increasing our footprint in a couple of overseas markets in South Asia and South East Asia," OYO Founder and CEO Ritesh Agarwal told PTI here.

However, he did not reveal destinations saying nothing has been finalised yet.

In India, he said, OYO is looking to strengthen its footprint in top leisure and pilgrimage destinations like Goa, the North-East (Shillong and Gangtok), Tirupati, Varanasi, Shirdi, Nasik, Jaipur, Vishakhapatnam and Mahabalipuram.

"For future growth, we continue to build on success in the top six travel markets - Delhi NCR, Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore, Kolkata and Ahmedabad," he added.

OYO currently operates over 70,000 rooms in 200 cities in India and Malaysia.

In India, OYO is present in 165 major business and travel destinations including Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore, Goa, Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Shirdi, Tirupati, Agra, Rishikesh, Bhopal, Haridwar, among others, and plans to launch many more.

After adding rooms and hotels to its platform, OYO is now looking to provide quality service like WiFi, AC, TV, spotless linen, hygienic washrooms and OYO Captains.

"OYO Captains will be like concierge service who will ensure smooth travelling experience and build personal relationship with customers," he added.

Each OYO Captain will be responsible for 30-40 properties in his locality constituting an average of 300-400 rooms, Agarwal said.

"We already have about 320 people to do quality audit and now they will be turned into OYO Captains with additional responsibility of smoothening consumer experience. We will basically be bringing these back-end people to the front now.

So now, we will only be hiring an additional 20-30 people as OYO Captains. Now, customers can directly reach out to OYO Captains for any complaints and guidance of the area," he said.