A Company Driven By Innovation: Ritesh Agarwal, OYO

Oravel Stays (OYO) is a familiar name among travel enthusiasts in India. Says the company’s Founder and CEO, Ritesh Agarwal, “Our aim is to become the number one hotel chain in the world by the year 2023. We see an excellent opportunity to achieve this goal and are adding approximately 64,000 rooms every month to our portfolio. Our expansion across India and international territories is backed by our strong operational capabilities and our ability to use technology to improve efficiencies at every consumer and asset owner touch point”.

“We are looking at the largest 15-20 markets of the world which are characterised by fragmented inventory and the future looks bright, as these are also all-purpose markets like China and the UK where we operate successfully,” Agarwal goes on to say. “Our goal in these markets is not just to capture a handsome market share but to be bigger than the top three-four chains combined,” says he.

On the organisation’s vision
OYO, strongly believes that it is the people who make the place and in our case, OYOpreneurs, the employees of OYO, plus those who work with an entrepreneurial mindset, are key to the success of the company. All our employees are partners in our success and have been instrumental in building the company grounds up. They stood by the company through thick and thin, and have always looked at creatively solving problems and making the best of opportunities that came our way.
 
On the company’s evolution
Our journey started five years ago with a single hotel in Gurugram with a handful of employees  with a clear focus in our mission to create a perfect space in every place. Today, we have grown to become South Asia’s largest, among China’s top five and the world’s fastest growing chain of  hotels, homes and living spaces and every OYOpreneur has a crucial role to play in us being able to achieve this feat. Today a 11,000 plus OYOpreneur-strong team of professional OYOpreneurs are working towards transforming the global hospitality landscape.

At OYO, we have a varied talent pool with capabilities ranging from technology to civil engineering; operations to data analytics and hotel management experts to designers who are working tirelessly to achieve the goal of adding value to every form of real estate. With this spectrum, we also have equally capable practices and processes. We treat employees feedback extremely seriously and for this purpose have a bot called Amber, where every OYOpreneur can interact with all the leaders and express themselves freely.  

On people philosophy
At OYO Hotels & Homes, being mission driven is a strong part of our culture and we have a clear vision that we don’t work for two meals a day. We see power in diversity and inclusion and are passionate about what we create. This is the philosophy that reflects across 11,000 plus OYOpreneurs and brings us together to transform the global hospitality landscape by creating a perfect space in every place.

On the company’s USP
OYO is a company driven by innovation. It’s coded in the OYO DNA and we are a group of problem-solvers. This unique combination is what sets us apart and makes us a great place to work in. OYO’s culture offers everyone equal opportunities to contribute towards achieving the company’s mission. We are ardent believers in transparency, with a clear vision of  being a merit-based organisation where recognition of good work is an essential aspect of professional growth. In the past few  years, we’ve seen individuals proving their mettle and moving to more significant and different roles because of their abilities and the impact that they have created in their area of work. This is only possible when there is a strong sense of purpose and mission among every OYOpreneur.

On the company’s road map
Today, OYO Hotels is synonymous with quality-assured accommodation across eight countries with 13,000 plus franchised and leased hotels in 500 plus cities across the globe. We have introduced OYO’s standardised offerings to deliver an exceptional experience to our guests and ensure high yields for asset owners. We want OYO Hotels & Homes to be known as the global force that changed the way people stay away from home.