Over 1 mn people made bookings with OYO for New Year celebrations: CEO

In a social media post, he said 58 per cent bookings for New Year's eve were made on same day keeping trend witnessed since December 2017 that reflected 'impulsive emotion and decision'

Over 10 lakh people booked for more than 5 lakh nights with hospitality chain OYO for New Year 2022 celebrations, generating bookings worth around Rs 110 crore over the weekend on its global platform, according to company Founder & Group CEO Ritesh Agarwal.

In a social media post, he said 58 per cent bookings for the New Year's eve were made on the same day keeping the trend witnessed since December 2017 that reflected the "impulsive emotion and decision" related with travel.

"Thank you to over a million people who booked more than half a million nights with us this New Years. For all of us at OYO, it was a busy NY (new year)," he wrote in his post on LinkedIn.

He further said, "2021 booking was (the) highest among 90 pandemic weekends since April 2020 with total customer bookings globally on our platform worth (around) Rs 110 crore (USD 14.6 million) over the weekend."

Agarwal said rooms booked on NY weekend of December 30-31 in 2021 stood at 5.03 lakh as compared to 1.02 lakh 2016.

Stating that for many, travel has always been "an impulsive emotion and decision", he said OYO's data vindicated it.

The percentage of OYO bookings made on the same day for New Year's eve for December 31, 2021 was 58 per cent, it was at 61 per cent in 2020, 57 per cent in 2019, 63 per cent in 2018 and 55 per cent in 2017, he wrote.

Reflecting on the growth the tech-driven hospitality chain has grown, Agarwal said in 2021 OYO has established presence in over 10,000 cities with around 1.59 lakh storefronts in 35 countries. In 2015, it had a presence in 127 cities with 1,229 storefronts.

Pointing to the fresh surge in COVID-19 cases, he said, "Let us all brace for what 2022 has in store for us. And while 2020 and 2021 have been hard hitting, we have seen that we will all take every opportunity to indulge in what we all love - travelling and exploring the world around us.