In a bid to consolidate its hotel booking business, home-renting company Airbnb Inc. has invested in Indian hotel reservation start-up OYO's series E funding round. As reported by financial daily, Mint, the investment is nearly around $150-200 million. As per the deal, Airbnb will provide a platform to Oyo's listings and enhance its international presence. On the other hand, the partnership will give more access to Airbnb to the Asian markets. After the deal, Oyo's more than 10,000 homes and villas will be listed on Airbnb in India, Dubai and few other markets.
Greg Greeley, president of homes at Airbnb said, "Emerging markets like India and China are some of Airbnb's fastest-growing, with our growth increasingly powered by tourism to and from these markets." Notably, the Oyo-Airbnb deal comes weeks after Airbnb took over HotelTonight, an app for finding hotel rooms at a discount, with an eye on a variety of travelers ahead of a hotly anticipated initial public offering.
Last year, the unicorn start-up, Oyo managed to raise more than $1 billion from investors including SoftBank and ride-hailing firm Grab. After performing handsomely in the Indian market, Oyo which is run by Oravel Stays Pvt LTD is eyeing global markets. In the last 12-18 months, the Gurugram based company has kicked off its operations in five countries including China, Malaysia, the UK, and Nepal.
The deal between Oyo and Airbnb has come as a surprise for many as once they were considered as rivals. However, the latest development means that Oyo is now seen as a 'supplier' for Airbnb rather than a competitor. Maninder Gulati, global chief strategy officer at OYO Hotels & Homes "Airbnb's strong global footprint and access to local communities will open up new opportunities for OYO Hotels & Homes." As claimed by the company, Oyo is operating in 259 cities, with more than 8,700 buildings and over 173,000 rooms.
Last month, Ritesh Aggarwal led Oyo rooms entered into a joint venture with Yahoo Japan Corporation to form Oyo Technology and Hospitality Company, Japan. The combined entity will operate in Japan as Oyo life where the next Olympics is scheduled in 2020. The startup is targeting a pie from Japan's budget hotel share ahead of the 2020 Olympic Games.
