[YS Exclusive] OYO gives ESOPs liquidity option to 600 employees

Gurugram-based unicorn Oyo Hotels and Homes has announced that it is offering 600 employees the option to liquidate their stock options. These stocks are believed to have a realisable value of Rs 200 crore. 

“In January last year, we had offered the ESOPs liquidity option to over 250 employees; it would have had a realisable value of Rs 40 to Rs 50 crore. This year alone, the ESOP programme aims to impact over 600 employees. Majority of these are from entry to mid-scale levels,” said Dinesh R, CHRO, OYO, in an exclusive conversation with YourStory.  

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He added that eligible option holders, existing and ex-employees, would be rewarded for their loyalty and value created over the last four years by way of liquidating a portion of their stock options. 

“This is being executed through a secondary acquisition programme led by one of our existing investors. Our Board members are very supportive of this initiative,” Dinesh said. 

The team has called all eligible employees with vested options to participate.

Dinesh said this move was also in tune with OYO’s 2020 vision of creating value not just for itself as an organisation but also for its employees.

“The primary objective is to recognise and reward employees, and for OYO to demonstrate through action that we are a company that is putting its money on its people (in good times as well as in testing times) This commitment remains unflinching,” he said. 

It hasn't been the best start to the year for the homegrown unicorn OYO. The first two weeks saw mass layoffs, IT raids, and vendor fallouts. OYO Founder and Group CEO Ritesh Agarwal then wrote to his employees, gave assurances, held town halls, and met different people in his team.

Last month, in a town hall email, Ritesh emphasised the importance of profitability along with sustainable growth. He wrote:

“In January 2020, we served about 6.5 million customers. As many of you may be aware, our hotels have a check-in experience tab that reflects customer check-in experience. We track it daily at the hotel level and continuously work with hotel owners to improve and offer a superior guest experience.” 

(Edited by Teja Lele Desai)