OYO Hotels forays into Indonesia with $100 million investment

OYO readies to launch in Jakarta, Surabaya, and Palembang with over 1,000 rooms, and is aiming for a presence in over 35 Indonesian cities by 2019.

Delhi-NCR-based hospitality startup OYO is set to spread its wings across the Southeast Asian hospitality market. Days after announcing its plans of entering UAE, the company today revealed that it is stepping into Indonesia.

In a press statement, OYO said that it would launch in Jakarta, Surabaya, and Palembang with a string of over 30 full-inventory - franchised and operated - exclusive hotels and over 1,000 rooms.

“Indonesia is one of the top choices for both global and Indian travelers, and, with our market learnings and expertise, we are ready to tap this opportunity. This expansion is in line with our quest to support the country’s hospitality ecosystem and create infrastructure for asset owners to grow and run successful businesses, all of this while ensuring high standards of quality,” said Ritesh Agarwal, Founder and CEO, OYO.

These properties will operate under its manchise model - leased with full inventory control - similar to India and China. OYO Hotels claimed it would be working to transform Indonesia's hospitality industry with its tech-based solutions, and by leasing, franchising, and renovating properties.

By 2020, OYO hotels aims to create over 60,000 livelihood opportunities in the country with job opportunities for locals in fields like housekeeping, front office, food and beverage, general management, and civil engineering.

“We at, OYO, are really excited about the potential of the Indonesian hospitality market and above all the impact that we can create on the local economy. Currently, for every three rooms that we on-board as a part of our chain of hotels, we create one livelihood opportunity. If we continue growing at this scale, we will soon emerge as one of the most prominent job creators in the country,” said Tadeus Nugraha, Head of Central Operations, OYO Hotels, Indonesia.

In the next 15 months, the company aims to expand to 35 cities in Indonesia, including Yogyakarta, Bandung, and Bali.

Launched in May 2013, OYO is currently present in over 350 cities across six countries, including India, China, Malaysia, Nepal, the UK, and the UAE. It is backed by the SoftBank Group, Greenoak Capital, Sequoia India, Lightspeed India, Hero Enterprises, and China Lodging Group.