The nationwide lockdown brought everything to a standstill, especially the education sector, with lakhs of JEE, NEET and state level exams being postponed. Today, as we slowly take a step towards normalcy, 24 lakh young and ambitious students are pushing boundaries by appearing for these national entrance and state-level examinations. To appear for these exams, many students travel far and wide, across smaller towns and cities to their Examination Centres. As a responsible hospitality chain, we, at OYO, wish to make this journey a tad bit easier for them so that they can continue to focus on their preparations, while we take care of their safe and hygienic accommodation requirements.
We are happy to extend our support towards the Ministry of Education and local government authorities by offering students discounted prices with the coupon code ‘OYO4Students’ redeemable across OYO’s booking platforms including the OYO app and website. We have also set up a dedicated email helpline students_stay@oyorooms.com for a convenient and seamless booking process for students, parents and/or guardians. The initiative is a part of our ongoing efforts to serve the larger community dealing with various uncertainties and challenges due to COVID-19. In the past couple of months, we have also facilitated accommodation support to international tourists, repatriated Indians as part of ‘Vande Bharat Mission’ and engaged with multiple foreign embassies and diplomatic missions in India.
As India moves forward with precautions to help the economy bounce back amid the pandemic, nearly 24 lakh aspiring students are set to appear for JEE-Main and NEET 2020 exams, with many hailing from smaller towns and cities. To support these students in their endeavours, the Union Minister of Education, Government of India, Shri. Ramesh Pokhiyal ‘Nishank’ appealed to local government authorities to support these aspirants. Keeping in mind the welfare of the students as well as their parents and guardians in the present situation, we have promised to support India’s aspiring young students with accommodation requirements across 300 cities, including important examination centres like Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Delhi NCR, among many others.
Coaching institutes like NEET Advisor have partnered with OYO to ensure that their stay is looked after while the students can focus completely on preparing for the exam. OYO’s asset owners across the country are also ensuring that they provide a comfortable environment for the students so that they avoid stepping out of the hotel as far as possible.
Speaking about OYO’s contribution to support aspiring students across India, Rohit Kapoor, CEO – OYO India & South Asia said, “Every year, several aspiring young students prepare for years and apply for these entrance exams. This year has been particularly challenging for everyone, especially these ambitious students who are ready to take a leap of faith and build a stronger, more resilient India for tomorrow. Many students across the country travel far and wide, even from smaller towns and cities to their respective Examination Centres spread across the country. Given the current circumstances with an active pandemic at play, we, at OYO, wanted to make this journey a tad bit easier for all students and their families by supporting them with quality, standardized, and safe accommodation at affordable prices. This is our effort in ensuring that India’s aspiring young talent can focus on their academics rather than other contributing stresses during the pandemic. We would like to thank our asset partners for their continued support in helping us serve the community at large.”
He adds, “Through our app, website, or email helpline, students and their parents can book an OYO hotel close to their examination centre at a reasonable price and we’ll take care of the rest. Even during times like this, we salute the spirit of these 2.4 million students who are geared up to take their first step towards a better future and a brighter India.”
We at OYO Hotels & Homes have rolled out several initiatives to ensure the health and safety of its guests with the introduction of ‘Sanitised Stays’, thereby implementing minimal touch policies for check-ins, check-outs as well as enabling digital payments. We also joined forces with Unilever, the global consumer goods company, to further enhance its sanitisation efforts across OYO’s properties. Unilever’s R&D team is also working with us to co-create Standard Operating Procedures for cleaning to maximise the positive effects of its products. Our properties where these operating procedures are used will display a tag on booking pages to show Unilever products have been used in cleaning services. This global partnership began in India and is scheduled to go live across Indonesia, Vietnam, the US, LATAM, and Europe.
Recently, understanding that during such times, when the world is adapting to newer ways of living alongside the virus, through digital and tech-based solutions, OYO launched Yo! Help, a 24*7 real-time chat assistant for guests with a valid booking across its hotels and homes globally. Through this technology, the hospitality chain is set to enable seamless experiences throughout the consumer journey, right from the post-booking to post-checkout or cancellation phases.
