What's Going On With Oyo, 10 Months Into the Pandemic
Skift Take
Oyo and its founder have long been accused of being heavy on spin even though all acknowledge that the hotel chain has been a category creator. This interview is excellent because Agarwal faced tough questioning. We know a politician who would have walked out.
From the official beginning of the pandemic in China, one of Oyo's core markets, at the end of the year, 2020 has been a year of reset for the India-headquartered budget hotelier.
In the interim, Oyo has recast its business model from a minimum guarantee for hoteliers in exchange for Oyo taking total pricing control, to a revenue share business model and a degree of rate flexibility.
In the video below, Wall Street Journal reporter Rolfe Winkler subjects Oyo founder and CEO Ritesh Agarwal to a hard-hitting series of questions about the lows of the pandemic, the recovery, cash burn, fake listings (denied), and valuation.
