As India Unlocks, Business Spikes for Ola and OYO

By siliconindia  |  Wednesday, 23 September 2020, 12:46:35 PM IST

As India Unlocks, Business Spikes for Ola and OYO
The Indian tech companies are gradually recovering from the disruption caused by the pandemic. OYO and Ola are also witnessing recovery in their businesses. 
At an event hosted by AIMA (All India Management Association), Ritesh Agarwal, Founder and CEO, OYO Hotels & Homes stated, "The company has managed to reach about 40-42 percent of its pre-COVID occupancy levels in the country. Urban towns are doing better in terms of recovery compared with leisure states like Goa and Uttarakhand, where the occupancy levels range about 20-25 percent or even lower due to restrictions on movements."
All over the world, OYO is witnessing a robust demand in the vacation home segment in Europe. But, businesses in Indonesia has also fairly picked up. Ritesh further stated that it is hard to forecast when the pandemic would end. It may take just six months or as much as three to five years for things to get back to normal. 
Bhavish Aggarwal, Co-Founder & CEO, Ola Cabs, says, "Travel is slowly coming back. The airport travel segment is seeing traction and office commute is doing better than the initial estimates. Recovery has been decent in markets like Mumbai." He adds, “Leisure night travel will take time to come back.”
Thus, both OYO and Ola have maintained their finances and are well-capitalized. Therefore, there are no immediate plans for them to raise any funds. Yet, Ola is considering aiming for an IPO in the mid-term.
It is also observed that OYO has sent a batch of its Indian employees on leave with limited benefits. However, it further extended the same for another six months lasting until February 28, 2021. Likewise, in May, Ola had let go of 1,400 employees as the pandemic worsened and had a severe impact on its business. 

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