OYO, who must have not heard about this online service providing platform. It is a Hospitality Brand Chain in India famous for providing best and standard quality hotels, rooms for your vacation, trip or stay at a very affordable and budget friendly price.
About OYO
It was Founded in 2012 by the Name ‘Oravel Stays’ and was renamed as OYO in 2013. It was Founded by Ritesh Agarwal, who is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO). The Full Form of OYO is On Your Own. Its Headquarter is Located in Gurgaon, Haryana.
| Name | OYO |
| Full Form | On Your Own |
| Former Name | Oravel Stays |
| Founding date | 2012 |
| Founder | Ritesh Agarwal |
| Headquarter | Gurgaon, Haryana |
| Parent Company | Oravel Limited Stays |
| Services | Accommodation, Hotel |
| IPO | March 2025 |
OYO Founder
It was founded by Ritesh Agarwal who is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of the famous Hospitality Chain Company OYO Rooms. He is also ranked among the Top Youngest Entrepreneurs who have earned in Billions. He has also earned the Title of The Youngest Self-made Billionaire. His current Net Worth is estimated to be around 16,000 Crore. Ritesh gained massive recognition and became highly popular after his participation in The Indian Business Reality Show, Shark Tank India as a Judge or Shark.
OYO History
Ritesh Agarwal who is the founder of this company, came up with the idea for the company by noticing a significant gap in the budget hotel market in India, where there was a lack of standardization and quality in affordable accommodations; he realized that by partnering with existing small hotels and upgrading their services to a consistent standard, he could provide reliable and affordable stays for travelers, which led to the creation of OYO Rooms, focusing on providing standardized budget rooms through a platform that partners with existing hotels.
OYO Vision
It is a universal platform whose goal is to empower businessmen and small businesses with hotels and rooms by providing full-stack technology products and high quality services that aims to increase revenue and ease operations; bringing easy-to-book, affordable, and trusted accommodation to customers around the world.
Services Provided by OYO
OYO Rooms, also known as Oyo Hotels & Homes, offers a variety of services for hotels and homes. These services include:
- Room amenities: In-room Wi-Fi, cable TV, AC, and backup power
- Food and drink: Breakfast and other food and drink options
- Housekeeping: Housekeeping services and laundry services
- Security: 24/7 security
- Maintenance: Maintenance and repair services
- Common area facilities: Access to common area facilities
- Home management: Home management services for private homes
- Vacation home management: Vacation home management services
- Corporate travel solutions: Oravel Travel Solutions for corporate travelers
OYO Shareholders
- Ritesh Agarwal: The founder and CEO of OYO Rooms, Agarwal is a major shareholder. He has increased his stake in the company by purchasing more shares.
- SoftBank: A major shareholder of this company
- Funds: Own the majority of OYO’s shares
- Enterprise: Hold 24.04% of OYO’s shares
- Founder: Hold 6.26% of OYO’s shares
- Other investors: Hold 1.37% of OYO’s shares
- Angel: Hold 0.04% of OYO’s shares
- Other people: Hold 0.01% of OYO’s shares
- Redsprig Innovation Partners: A company owned by Agarwal that has invested in this company
- Aditya Ghosh: A member of OYO’s Board of Directors
OYO Investors
Oyo Rooms has many investors, including SoftBank Group, Airbnb, and Lightspeed Venture Partners. Some other investors include:
- Didi Chuxing: A Chinese vehicle-for-hire company that invested in 2018
- Greenoaks Capital: An investor in OYO’s Series A round in 2014
- Peak XV Partners: An investor in OYO’s Seed round in 2014
- Hindustan Media Ventures: An investor in OYO’s Series F round in 2021
- Ra Hospitality: An investor in OYO’s Series F round in 2019
- Lightspeed Venture Partners: An investor in OYO’s Series D round in 2017
- Airbnb: An investor in OYO’s Series E round in 2018
- Grab: An investor in OYO’s Series E round in 2018
- Patient Capital: A Singapore-based entity that invested in OYO’s Series G round in 2024
- J&A Partners: An investor in OYO’s Series G round in 2024
OYO Current Valuation
As of August 2024, the valuation of this comapny was around INR 29,250 crore ($3.65 billion). This was based on the unlisted stock price of OYO at INR 45.
Explanation:-
- In July and August 2024, it raised INR 1,457 crore in Series G funding.
- This funding added around 50 crore shares to the company’s capital.
- As of August 2024, the total outstanding shares were around 650 crore.
OYO Awards and Achievements
- Jay Chiat Awards 2022: It won the Grand Prix, two Gold awards, and one Silver award for its “Come to Oyo” campaign.
- Business World Young Entrepreneur Award: Ritesh Agarwal, the founder, won this award in 2015
- Forbes 30 under 30: Ritesh Agarwal was named to this list in 2016
- EY Entrepreneur of the Year: Ritesh Agarwal won this award in 2019
- The Millennial Maverick Award: Ritesh Agarwal won this award at the GQ & Mercedes-Benz Restless for Tomorrow Awards in 2020
- Thiel Fellowship: It won a US$100,000 grant in 2013 from this two-year program
- Venture Nursery program: It was accelerated through this program in 2012
OYO Net Worth
As of March 2024, the valuation of OYO Rooms was ₹74,000 crore. This was based on the company’s asset base and its position in the hospitality industry. Ritesh Agarwal (Founder) had a net worth of approximately ₹16,000 crore in March 2024. This is equivalent to $2 billion. Agarwal is considered the youngest self-made billionaire in India. He has also been recognized with the World Young Entrepreneur Award.
OYO’s Controversies
It has been involved in many Controversies and has been penalized for the breach of Rules and Regulations.
- In 2022, It was entitled to the Allegation for not following fair competition rules and was penalised for Anti-competitive Behavior. The Competition Commission of India (CCI) fined OYO with Rupees 168.88 crore. The complaint, made by Federation of Hotel and Restaurant Associations of India (FHRAI) , that was being favored by another platform, MakeMyTrip (MMT). This led to other hotels being removed from MMT. Along with OYO, MMT was also fined $27 million. However, OYO did not accept the Allegation and denied it.
- In 2020, It was accused of Fraudery Allegations by a businessman named Vikas Gupta who filed a complaint against OYO’s founder Ritesh Agarwal and the CEO of OYO Weddingz, Sandeep Lodha, stating that OYO and Weddinz violated their business agreement. Gupta had worked with them to run a wedding business, but after the pandemic caused losses, Ritesh asked Gupta to re-submit documents he had already provided, which broke the terms of their deal.
- In 2020, It was fined in the USA with $202,500. The complaint was made from the California Department of Business Oversight. Hotel owners accused OYO of taking over their hotels without informing them that OYO didn’t have the proper government approval to operate. In short, It faced legal trouble for unfair business practices in India and the U.S., along with fraudary allegations.
- In November 2019, It was involved in a Fraudulent Case. The case was filed by a Hotelier Betz Fernandez who is the Owner of Hotel Roxel Inn, he filed an FIR Case against OYO for not clearing the dues of 35 Lakh. On the contrary, OYO said that they would File a counter complaint.
OYO Social Media
- It also has accounts on social media. It has more than 1 million followers on its social media profiles.
- It has an Instagram account with the name ‘@oyorooms’ with more than 1.5 lakhs Followers.
- It also has accounts on Facebook and Twitter with the names ‘OYO’ and ‘@oyorooms’ with 1.1 Million and 74,700 followers respectively.
- It also has an account on Linkedin with the name ‘OYO’ with 11.3 Lakhs Followers. It also has a Channel on Youtube with the name ‘@oyo’ with 78,100 Followers.
| Social Media | Followers/ Subscribers | Link |
|---|---|---|
| 1.5 lakhs | https://www.instagram.com/oyorooms/?hl=en | |
| 1.1 Million | https://www.facebook.com/oyorooms/ | |
| 74,700 | https://x.com/oyorooms | |
| 11.3 lakhs | https://in.linkedin.com/company/oyo-rooms | |
| Youtube | 78,100 | https://www.youtube.com/@OYO |
