New Delhi: Hospitality firm OYO said on Wednesday that with US and Europe emerging as its strong growth drivers, it has emerged, in terms of room count, as the world's third largest hotel chain,

London and Dallas, amongst others, emerged as top destinations for OYO as it expanded its presence to over 800 cities in a span of six years.

This growth is backed by a strong balance sheet of about $1.5 billion, it added.

"Strong impact fueled by the company’s success in China with presence in 337 cities and over 500,000 rooms, followed by fast-paced growth in Indonesia with presence in 80 cities and over 20,000 rooms and 720 hotels, UK with presence in 25 destinations and over 85 hotels, and more recently in the U.S., with a presence in 40 cities and over 68 hotels," said the company in a release.

The company reiterated its commitment towards China with $600 million investment towards the country of which $100 million will be invested towards customer experience, quality, and system improvements.

To fuel further growth in China with focus on talent development, competency building, infrastructure development, the company will consider further investment as it continues to be China’s largest single hotel brand and second-largest hotel group.

The company is present in 300 cities in India with around 200,000 rooms.

"I am humbled to see the love and support of our customers and real estate owners that have helped us in emerging as the third-largest hotel chain on basis of the number of rooms," OYO Hotels & Homes founder and CEO (Group) Ritesh Agarwal said.

The company claims to have created over 300,000 direct and indirect job opportunities across India, China, US and the UK.

On 8 July, Mint reported that OYO is preparing for an initial share sale in the next two-three years, according to two people aware of the development, one of them directly associated with the firm.

“An IPO has been an integral part of all investor conversations over the last couple of months," the person directly associated with OYO said on condition of anonymity. “The intent is to go public in two-three years and the company is taking several steps towards this major goal."

When it happens, the share sale could value Oyo, the country’s second most valuable startup after Paytm, at up to $18 billion, according to four non-Oyo investors, who did not wish to be named.

Subscribe to Mint Newsletters * Enter a valid email * Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter.

Share Via