Ritesh’s reflections on a LinkedIn post challenging OYO’s business model. This was sent earlier today as an internal email to all OYO Team members.
Dear Friends,
Many of you have expressed your anger and frustration since a post about OYO appeared on LinkedIn last evening. We have been criticized before and I am sure we will face criticism again in the future. However, by questioning our integrity and intent using presumptive half-baked theories and insufficient data the author has insulted more than 2,200 of us who are working day and night to realize our shared dreams.
It has taken a lot of sweat, a lot of pain and many sacrifices from all of us to get OYO to where we are today. We have amazing customers who love us, a great technology platform, one of the best teams in the start-up ecosystem, loyal partners who work with us side by side, strong investors and a business that’s growing month on month with positive take rates and a clear path to profitability – calling all this a ‘Ponzi scheme’ is just preposterous!
We are here to solve a really difficult problem for the Indian budget travelers, and we are proud of what we have achieved already. OYO has started a revolution – from the largest OTAs to more than 20 start-ups across the globe, there are many who are trying to build another OYO.
Our customers love our product and our services. They love us because we take end-to-end responsibility for guest experience. Starting from selecting hotels, standardizing the infrastructure, training staff and using technology to drive ease of use, we have always seen ourselves as a hotel chain. More than 600 of our colleagues are working incessantly to shoulder this responsibility in the 179 cities we operate in. “I enjoyed my stay at OYO” or “I booked an OYO” are common references these days. And this is what brings each one of us to the office every day!
Not only are we growing fast, we are also growing strong! Our take rates have improved significantly and are now positive across the network including minimum guarantees (less than 3% of our business now). Our pricing team is continuously improving algorithms to maximize revenues while driving target take rates. Only ignorance or a strong desire to malign can lead to the use of a term like “Ponzi scheme” in the above context.
Our consumer app is game-changing – a simple three-click booking process, relevant content, turn by turn directions, in-app ordering service, choice of hotels at almost every location and so on. This app is fundamentally changing consumer behavior – our customers are now booking more and more OYOs closer to check-in time, a trend earlier seen only in the taxi aggregator space.
More than 99.5% of our guests get exactly what they book. This is made possible by our partner hotel mobile app that ensures real-time synchronization of room inventory. Our partners also are making more money and are getting better returns on their assets because of OYO. With more than 5,700 OYOs on our network now, we have lost fewer than 2% hotels ever – most let go after consistently failing to deliver a predictable guest experience.
Like any evolving start-up, we have made our fair share of mistakes. Nothing hurts us more than a guest undergoing a bad experience. We have always stood up to take responsibility and then worked tirelessly to build OYO, one great experience at a time. Many times I have personally apologized to the customer. Each mistake hurts me, but I am not ashamed of my mistakes, as I am yet to hear of an entrepreneur who can claim to have succeeded without making mistakes.
As a company, we are always open to constructive criticism but when someone questions our intent and integrity, it infuriates us all. Your reaction is a reminder of how passionate we are about OYO and how closely we are bound together in our mission. If there is one thing I know, it is that naysayers and detractors increase our resolve to create the world’s most loved hotel brand. Keep building team!
Cheers,
Ritesh
15 Comments
We have a belief in you and your team . Just try to focus on building this Comoany.
Though i understand it’s almost impossible to ignore this kind of covergae for wrong reasons but as wise men said As you grow in your Life – people start asking many Q’s. They will make OPINIONS about you.
The worst YOU can do is to answer / explain everyone.
Keep growing quietly ; they will get the answers…!
Stay strong, keep stick to your mission.
Startup Community is with you.
@ Delhistartups 🙂
Thank you Shivam for the support.
Go OYO Go….!!!!!
These words show how serious you are about ensuring great Customer Experience…
A must for any Service Company….
Looking forward to many more OYOtions….!!!
Hey Sonu, Thank you so much for such positive words. Means a great deal to us. 🙂
Well I am not sure about taking customer complaints seriously. Had a very bad experience with one oyo stay in Amritsar. Complained thrice but no reply yet. Waiting for a reply for last 7 months.
Hi Das,
We are really sorry that you had to go through a bad experience. Our team will be getting in touch with you ASAP.
Thanks for sharing your view points but you have not responded to the specific allegations on bookings, min guarantee etc. the author has given anecdotal evidence on why he considers oyo as ponzi and if you want to rubbish that claim you need to respond on an even keel.
Dear Badri, We really appreciate your support. The Editorial Team has here published an internal email sent by Ritesh to all OYO members to motivate them. This is not a direct response to the mentioned LinkedIn post. We feel it’s important to focus on supporting each other and being strong together, and this is what matters the most to us. 🙂
This year, once in Feb and in Apr we stayed in Oyo rooms in Jaipur and Haridwar. The experience was good both in terms of economy and hospitality. Good value for money.
Thank you so much. We can’t wait to host you again. 😀
Just put your head down and focus on scale, efficiency and most importantly service. You will also get articles on how great Oyo’s business is once you win the war!
hey Ritiesh ,,,
This is hussain from odisha ..like u i have started a company in visakhapatnam …but unfortunately that idea doesnot works…i want to start again as a fresh…can u give ur any direct contact details ..so that i can approach u…i need ur help and somewhat side support ..remaining thing from my side …
9439975265,mh780737@gmail.com,skype:hussain906087,09148769507-what’sup
waiting for ur replyyyy!!!!!
What is Ritesh Agarwal’s reaction to the LinkedIn article equating his startup to a ponzi scheme?
https://www.oyorooms.com/officialoyoblog/2016/05/20/598 It’s here on official Oyo Blog 🙂
Way to go Ritesh. Never care for what they say… Keep building… OYO is an institution challenging and changing hoteliers in India..
OYO has inspired many and I am one of them. Its resolve of 2200 people which is bringing formal structure to otherwise informal budget hotel sector. Giving budget hotel customer a taste of ‘Customer experience’ and helping them have ‘value for money’ is an effort which can not be ignored. I than OYO from the bottom of my heart to build the entire eco system around budget hotels. Wish you a great success Ritesh and team.
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