Continuing its international expansion spree, online hospitality chain Oyo has launched operations in the United Arab Emirates. It has started with over ten full-inventory franchised and operated hotels and over 1100 rooms in Dubai, Sharjah and Fujairah in the UAE.
According to a statement from the company, room rates will be starting 150 dirhams. By 2020, Oyo plans to expand to over 12,000 rooms, 150 Hotels and all 7 Emirates, across United Arab Emirates.
Oyo sees a huge opportunity in Dubai with the the Dubai Tourism forecasting the hospitality sector to experience sharp, sustained growth over the coming years. Occupied room nights are set to reach 35.5 million annually in 2019, representing a 10.2% compound annual growth rate over the next 24 months.
“With over 170 countries committing to the World Expo 2020, the hospitality sector in the Middle East, and more specifically UAE, is poised to grow substantially and with our market learnings and expertise we are ready to tap this opportunity. We’ve been at the forefront of the budget and mid segment hotels revolution in the markets we operate in and can bring in our operational expertise and technology edge to the benefit of independent hotel owners,” Ritesh Agarwal, Founder and CEO, OYO Hotels, said in a statement.
“As per a recent report, Dubai alone will host over 20 million visitors and currently records approximately hotel keys per resident at 29.9 per 1,000 people, which is on the higher side when benchmarked against international hub cities, a clear indicator of the potential of this market,” he adds.
Oyo hopes to create 4000+ direct and indirect jobs in the UAE by the end of 2019. The properties in UAE will be operated under models of manchise, lease with full - inventory control similar to other markets like India and China.
"The country is an attractive market with sizeable internet and mobile presence, which complements our approach. We've received an overwhelming response to OYO Hotels offerings in the country since our soft launch and look forward to hosting more guests in the coming years,” Vartika Goel, Country Lead, OYO Hotels, UAE, said.
Oyo is currently present in over 350 cities with over 12,000 asset partners spread across six countries including India, China, Malaysia, Nepal, the UK and now UAE in the Middle East. Oyo claims to have pioneered the world’s first full stack technology led hospitality model and has over 270,000 franchised and leased rooms as a part of the chain, delivering strong revenue yields for its asset partners.
Oyo Hotels host more than 125,000 stayed room nights every single day, a testament to its impact on millions of guests across the world, the company said in a statement.