OYO sees bookings rise in China

About 70% of OYO’s hotels in China have reopened. The Indian hospitality firm is witnessing a slow rise in bookings in China, which is its second largest global market after India.

OYO is present right across China in most of its prominent locations. It has 500,000 rooms in China, contributing 32% of OYO’s global revenue.

The company said: “We have seen a consistent rise in occupancy in the last five weeks. We are witnessing over 50% occupancy rates in South China in comparison to North China.”

OYO currently has plans in place to open the remaining hotels over the next 30 to 45 days.

The company added: “We have seen positive trends with respect to the average room prices. They are emerging strongly in comparison to the drops which we expected earlier.”

OYO has particularly suffered as a result of the global pandemic, placing thousands of employees on furlough and implementing significant executive pay cuts. This past week it was rumoured to be considering layoffs for most of its staff in the US and UK.

The company hopes that a new focus on cleanliness and hygiene will pull guests into its doors. OYO has committed to doing temperature screens of all guests and staff at hotels while they are in operation.

It also added former Starbucks executive Troy Alstead as an independent board member to aid its global expansion. This may help it expand further into the American rental market.