Indian hospitality start-up OYO Hotels & Homes is doubling down on its China bet, signing a series of strategic partnerships in order to strengthen its reach in its largest growing market.
While the Gurugram-headquartered company signed an agreement with Chinese online travel services provider Ctrip month, this week saw the hospitality platform sign another strategic partnership with Chinese online services company Meituan, under which OYO offerings will be listed on the SoftBank-backed company’s platform.
The signings are an indication that the company is going full steam ahead in exploiting the Chinese market, one where its has seen substantial success over the past few quarters. The company sees the Chinese market as an integral part of its growth strategy, terming the country its “second home market”.
In its statement, OYO said that its Chinese subsidiary OYO Jiudian will list 8,000 properties on the Meituan platform, allowing it to drive consumer traffic, data operations brand promotions. “Our partnership with Meituan is a reflection of our commitment to providing quality living spaces to consumers and creating higher value for small- and medium-sized standalone hotel owners across China,” Sam Shih, chief operations officer at OYO Jiudian, said. “We have held strong the principles of opening up and achieving mutual wins. We wish to work with various kinds of partners to harness technological innovation and provide well-rounded services that satisfies our customers…,” added Guo Qing, vice president, Meituan Group, GM of Meituan Hotel, Meituan Ticketing and Meituan Vacation.
According to industry reports, Meituan is said to have beat Ctrip in terms of domestic room bookings in China with both companies commanding a market share of around 33 per cent. With both of these firms signing strategic partnerships with OYO, the Indian chain has enhanced its exposure and strengthened penetration capabilities.
OYO’s focus on China has paid off if its numbers are anything to go by. Earlier this week, it said that it had crossed the five lakh room milestone in the market and that it plans to invest $100 million there over the next two years, primarily for quality as well as system improvements and customer service.