Indian Hotel Chain Oyo Eyes UK Expansion
Date: September 2018
Location: Padington and Ilford, London, UK
Name:
No. of Keys: 13 (Paddington – Three star) and 30 (Ilford – four star)
Owner: Indian hotel chain Oyo is eying UK expansion with two London hotels in Paddington and Ilford, Essex already in operation.
Founded by chief executive Ritesh Agarwal in 2013, the company has earmarked £40m to expand the budget Oyo franchise in Britain, with plans to launch in 10 cities over the next 18 months, particularly targeting Birmingham, London, Manchester and Edinburgh.
The group has appointed Jeremy Sanders, former chief executive and co-founder of the Coco di Mama restaurant chain, to lead its UK operations.
OYO Hotels partners with small-scale hoteliers to transform their service through technology such as apps and intelligent technologies developed for both consumers and owners.
Properties will be operated under models of franchise, manchise and lease with full inventory control.
Agarwal said: “Oyo Hotels has been the forefront of the small and budget hotels revolution in India, China, Malaysia and Nepal.
The UK is one of the world’s most visited countries, and so we are thrilled to now be able to offer OYO’s affordable, hassle-free and quality living experiences to guests across the UK.
Our countries have strong ties and we are pleased to be partnering with UK hoteliers to help them generate increased, sustainable incomes. ”
Sanders added: “I am very excited to be leading Oyo’s expansion into
the UK. As we’ve experienced in Asia, we are confident that our bespoke technology and operational expertise brings real value to hotel owners and customers alike.”
Oyo currently has properties across 230 Indian cities as well as hotels in Malaysia and Nepal, and last year launched its Townhouse managed hotel brand.
The company is backed by investors including the SoftBank Vision Fund, Greenoak Capital, Sequoia India, Lightspeed India, Hero Enterprise and China Lodging Group.
THPT Comment: We’ve been hearing about Oyo opening in London for a while, so good to see these two starters… Their expansion in India has been impressive.
First Seen: The Caterer