After a Spree of International Expansions, OYO Expands into Co-Living spaces

Looks OYO is on full expansion mode. Soon after expanding its wing to the Middle East and South Asian market, the hospitality company has now ventured into co-living rental places with OYO Living.

According to the company's official statement, the services was piloted in mid-2018 and now OYO Living will host properties with more than 2000 beds in Noida, Gurgaon, Bangalore, and Pune. The services in majorly targeted to gen X and young professionals.

Discussing its new offering, Ritesh Agarwal, CEO & Founder, OYO Hotels & Homes said the move to continue innovating and create customer experiences.

"OYO Living was conceptualized based on the feedback and demand from our valued customers and asset partners. We saw this as a huge opportunity and decided to leverage our hospitality experience to offer a first of its kind end to end fully managed living experience," he shared while adding that, "This launch, therefore, marks a key milestone as we embark on our journey towards becoming India's biggest provider of housing, consolidating our position as a category innovator and leader."

With OYO Living, the Softbank-backed start-up will also take complete control of the property this will also include maintenance and professional upkeep of the space.

Co-Living Spaces in India

In the era of sharing economy where co-living spaces are gaining popularity in India – with over a couple of them popping up each year, a handful of them such as NestAway and ZiffyHomes have been able to make a mark for themselves in segment.

The hospitality start-up will offer residents fully managed independent residential units, inclusive of contracting, furnishing, cleaning, maintenance, and in-stay services with essential amenities like Wi-Fi connectivity, television, regular housekeeping, power backup, CCTV surveillance, and 24/7 caretaking.

Explaining its offering, Kavikrut, Chief Growth Officer, OYO Hotels & Homes, said, "OYO Living spaces have been designed based on the needs of the millennials, who look for "when one stays at home' feeling during their stays. Our robust design and data science team, has helped us understand this need and has curated an offering that is inspiring, artsy, modern, comfortable, and adaptive"

The cost of services will start from INR 7999 per month/bed and help customers save on brokerage and lock-in periods.

The Expansion Mode

Earlier this year, the company has raised USD 800 million funding from Japan-based Softbank Vision Fund. The start-up is also backed by, Greenoaks Capital, Sequoia India, Lightspeed India, Hero Enterprise and China Lodging Group.

The company, earlier this week, expanded its operation to Indonesia. Including India, OYO has a presence in over seven countries which will also include China, Dubai, Malaysia, Nepal, UK and UAE.