According to MoneyControl, Doubling down its focus on technology ahead of its IPO, SoftBank-backed Oyo is piloting a self sign-up service that will allow hotels to list properties on the platform in just 30 minutes, according to sources privy to the development.
The move is expected to shore up the number of hotels on the platform which saw a massive decline because of the pandemic.
Any hotel owner can just open the website, select from the options of home, hotel or life, a category Oyo has built for long-term stays. The person will be shown the estimated revenue it can earn by joining Oyo, based on local competition and demand patterns including the location of the property, according to one of the sources quoted above.
Oyo will likely charge a base rate of around 20 percent, besides service fee and GST, among other costs. It will also take control of 100 percent of room inventory at the property and the pricing of the rooms.
Once the owner joins in, all the details of the hotel including photographs and location will be synced on Oyo from the publicly available information of the property, including other online travel agencies.
But the biggest question is how will the company control the quality of inventory being onboarded, something for which it had to face huge criticism in the past.
According to one of the sources mentioned above, while the hotels will go live in 30 minutes, Oyo will take about 14 days to put up its signages and branding on the property. During this time, it will do all the due diligence required.
It will also focus on user-generated audit forms, which will be triggered to all the customers within 60 minutes of check-in. The responses will be used to make necessary changes to the properties.
Oyo offers its hotel partners revenue management suite, data analytics services and demand generation, among other things.
The company has increased its investment in technology, including human resources by over 60 percent in the last two-three years, said the source quoted above. |