Having raised $1 billion from the Japanese investor SoftBank, India’s hospitality unicorn Oyo entered the U.S. market by opening an office in Dallas, and is testing the market with OYO Townhouses in Austin, Texas.
The company generates most of its demand directly, and its customers book rooms via its mobile app. Oyo focuses on the budget market, pinpointing real estate assets that could be far more profitable if run as budget hotels than in how they’re currently being used at their locations. In India, the occupancy rate of a small budget hotel typically increases from 25 percent to 65 percent within a month after joining, the company claims.
Currently, the company is present in the U.K., Indonesia, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and the Philippines. Ritesh Agarwal, the 25-year-old founder and CEO of Oyo says, “Remember, for hotels, the return is based on two multipliers, price, and occupancy. Even if you keep the price 10 percent lower, and increase the occupancy three times, the return is still roughly 2.8 times. Not bad!”
“We have had a great 2018. Globally we have reached 458,000+ fully controlled, leased, and franchised keys (rooms) with a realized value run rate of $1.8 billion as of December 2018 representing a 4.3 times year-on-year growth,” said Abhishek Gupta, chief financial officer.
Last updated: December 26th, 2025
