Indian startups are now venturing overseas and take their business models beyond the Indian shores. After the launch of Ola’s ride share cab service in distant Australia and Sri Lanka and Bangladesh closer home, comes the news of hotel room aggregator Oyo entering the high-profile market of Dubai, reports Entrackr.
The Gurugram-based company has already appointed its point person for handling the UAE end of the business and the operations may start with just 5 to 7 properties in Dubai before expanding the network. The new head of the business, Manu Midha, has exposure to the UAE market and is expected to play his part in driving the business and managing the show there.
UAE is the third overseas market Oyo has entered. Malaysia and Nepal are the markets they are already present, but Dubai may count as a major international destination and the company’s skills and strategies will be fully tested.
Oyo’s numbers are as follows: 8,500 properties and 70,000 rooms under its management. In India alone, there are 230 cities in which you can book your hotel room through OYO. In terms of funding, OYO has so far raised $442 million and the major investor is SoftBank of Japan. Other investors include Hero Enterprises and China Lodging Group.
By switching to the Franchise model about 4-5 months back, Oyo has been able to bury its differences with MakeMyTrip and its rooms now can be seen and booked on the MMT platform as well. There are even reports of the promoter of MMT planning to make a strategic investment in OYO, strengthening the bond. Over the past few years it has also launched new formats such as Oyo Townhouse to be able to attract more customers.
The coming weeks and months will show how good the Indian companies are able to cope with competition in high-profile markets like UAE.