Oyo makes room for revival, tweaks strategy for sustainable growth

The asset- and capex-light model, which is at the heart of the strategy, is yet to be tested

SoftBank’s Masayoshi Son, one of the chief financial backers of Oyo Hotels and Rooms, called it the jewel of his fund. His expectation from the budget hotel chain start-up, in which SoftBank has a 46 per cent stake, founded by Ritesh Agarwal was simple: Become the largest hotel chain network in the world in terms of rooms.
 
Initially, Oyo justified Son’s faith. In 2019, Agarwal with 1.2 million hotel rooms across the world was just behind Marriott in the pecking order (1.4 million) and bigger than Hilton (1.01 million). Since then, however, the hotel aggregator has struggled with heavy