On easing of travel curbs Oyo sees recovery in India


On easing of travel curbs Oyo sees recovery in India

The chief executive of India's Oyo Hotels and Homes said that the SoftBank-backed hospitality startup's business was likely to return to levels seen before the second wave, but he did not provide a timeline for its potential IPO.

"In India, if all goes well, in a couple of weeks our numbers will be back to pre-wave two and then growing from there," says, Indian Entrepreneur, Founder and CEO Ritesh Agarwal.

During the global health crisis, the hotel aggregator, in which SoftBank has a 46 percent stake and is one of its biggest bets, has faced months of layoffs, cost cuts, and losses.

However, as travel restrictions are eased and vaccinations are increased, travel demand in India is slowly recovering, with local tourism attractions seeing increased traffic.

"Staycations are in vogue and the trend of 'work from anywhere' is not a short-term one," Agarwal said.

He stated that Oyo, which aggregates bookings for India's budget hotels and allows guests to book hotels through its mobile app, would consider a potential IPO but did not provide a timeline.

Global technology platform helps small hotel & home owners with ease of operations and revenue growth, multiple distribution channels for increased online visibility, discover program that increases daily new guests up to 40% and Property management with user friendly solution

"We are looking at upcoming IPOs very closely, I'm sure our board will weigh in on our business progress and general listings of technology companies."

This year, India has seen several listings, fueled by foreign funds and interest from small-time investors.

Zomato, a food delivery startup, filed for an IPO in late April, and One97 Communications Ltd, the parent company of Paytm, is expected to file a draught prospectus as early as July 12.