OYO Hotels signs MoU with SBI and Bank of Baroda to offer financial fillip for small hotels

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– Part of Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojna, the initiative will support budget hotels

– Will also nurture micro-entrepreneurs and generate more jobs

South Asia’s largest hotel chain – has inked MoUs with the State Bank of India and Bank of Baroda for extending its support to budget hotels and creating jobs across levels. Signed under the aegis of the Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojna, the MoUs will enable financial support for OYO’s existing and potential hotel partners for fueling transformation and standardization at their properties. The opportunity will also allow OYO to spearhead the creation of thousands of jobs in Tier II and III cities by nurturing micro-entrepreneurs in the hospitality sector.

Speaking on the development, Jayant Chauhan, SVP – Fintech, OYO, said: “We are thrilled to join hands with banking powerhouses – the State Bank of India and Bank of Baroda and achieve the mission of job creation in the country by enabling the youth to emerge as micro entrepreneurs and run their own successful businesses. These MoUs will help us in shortening the demand-supply gap of quality accommodation by offering hoteliers a platform to transform their property and enhance the business by creating beautiful living spaces. In the past, partner hotels have witnessed an increase in revenue and occupancy levels after becoming a part of OYO’s chain of hotels. On average, in business cities, we have been delivering 80%+ occupancy.’’

As a step towards enabling convenient financing and collateral-free loans for its asset partners through banks and NBFCs, OYO has also established an in-house Fintech division. These loans will help individuals hailing from Tier II and III cities to be self-employed and run their own budget assets with OYO’s diverse brand portfolio allowing them to become a partner through OYO Home (two rooms and above) or OYO Rooms under franchise or manchise model. The company is further utilizing machine learning models and data analytics in this process and all these facets will come together to strengthen the country’s micro-entrepreneurship ecosystem.

Jayant added, ‘’As a category, over the years, budget hotels have been overlooked as the preferred accommodation option. This may have been due to smaller ticket values, lack of predictable, standardised services or a lesser attraction for not-so-known brands. Nonetheless, this niche caters to one of the biggest travel segments in India, offering a tremendous market opportunity, of which only about 2% has been tapped so far. At OYO, we work in close proximity with our hotel partners and help them emerge as better hospitality players while empowering neighbourhood hotels to emerge in the same league as the big boys of hospitality. Since hospitality is in a transformational phase as technology and innovations are driving new business practices, there is much scope for budget hotels to expand further.”

OYO aims to enable delightful stay experiences for customers by empowering hotel owners – allowing access to technology and facilitating better customer service – and increasing overall profitability. The hospitality major has been a frontrunner in modernizing small and budget hotels, thereby generating new employment opportunities in small cities and towns while enabling the constant availability of standardized and quality accommodation for travellers. With a diverse portfolio – OYO Rooms in the budget segment and OYO Townhouse, OYO Home and SilverKey in the mid-market category – the chain caters to an array of travellers.