Oyo tries out co-living for growth, but will the biz model work in India?

The Gurgaon-based Unicorn recently marked its entry in the fast-growing co-living space

Last month, Oyo announced its entry into long-term rental via a business arm called Oyo Living. It was out of character. Oyo has traditionally been a company that built its balance sheet around short-term rentals — hotels. But this was different. There was the usual fanfare. It was seen as another feather in the cap of a company whose valuation has soared to $5 billion almost overnight.

The knee-jerk reaction is to compare Oyo with less funded players such as Nestaway and CoHo. And ask what the others have to fear. But a bigger question is this: Will the business