Oyo turns to new tech offerings to tap biz efficiencies
The firm also launched its chat service Oyo Yo! to help customers and property owners address grievances
Hospitality unicorn Oyo Homes and Hotels Ltd has turned to technology offerings across markets to bring in efficiencies to keep costs in check and improve profitability. The company, which had to halt its growth strategy and restructure operations last year, is also using its tech stack to improve customer and hotel partner services.
Oyo launched Oyo Secure, its internal ‘wallet-like’ service that allows property owners to upload a certain amount against which reconciliations of commissions and payments take place on a daily basis. Disputes can also be raised against these transactions on one platform in a streamlined manner.
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The firm also launched its chat service Oyo Yo!, which was piloted earlier as Oyo Assist, to help customers and property owners address grievances. As much as 85% of all queries are being routed through the chat service, Oyo said.
The company plans to take its products and renewed technology playbook to all its international geographies. “Covid was also an example of how crisis brings clarity. We realized that Oyo could use data science and technology to give partners more visibility on how they can make changes in their decision making and get improved revenues," Oyo founder and CEO Ritesh Agarwal said.
“The view is to use this technology platform to serve customers and partners, also for Oyo International, as we do in our core markets. Any expansion in international markets will be now technology-led," Agarwal added.
In the past, the hospitality firm has also been accused by property owners globally of stifling commissions as it relies on its own algorithms to determine pricing of properties. To give better control to property owners, the company has allowed them to now change the price range by 10% on its revenue management platform.
It also launched Oyo Discover during the pandemic to allow property owners to provide unused inventory to Oyo’s first-time customers at a flat offer price of ₹499, to get demand back.
New products such as Oyo Discover are present in Oyo’s core India and Southeast Asia (INSEA) markets, besides Saudi Arabia and the UK, as it looks to scale them. It has already scaled Oyo Yo! to 12 global markets.
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Madhurima Nandy contributed to the story.
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