Kon’nichiwa Japan!
OYO Hotels and Homes scores a ‘perfect 10’! After expanding our global footprint in 9 countries, with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia being the most recent, we are opening our doors to the land of the rising Sun! This will be OYO’s first-ever joint venture with Yahoo! Japan and we will launch our operations in Japan with OYO LIFE. OYO Living, which was recently rechristened to OYO LIFE, which is a first of its kind, hassle-free, and technology-driven rental housing product to Japanese students, citizens, and young professionals.
We also extend a warm welcome to Hiro Katsuse as the CEO to oversee our operations in Japan. Hiro Katsuse has held several leadership positions at Handy and Booking.com in the past.
The Japanese home rental market is large and growing with a market size of 12 trillion yen ($108 Billion) but has its own share of challenges and problems. Much like India, young Japanese people looking out to rent a decent property face similar challenges like researching for the property, dealing with a plethora of agents and middle-men, paying upfront deposits and signing long-term leases. Even if a young person finds a place to rent after overcoming all these barriers, a new set of challenges rises, such as arranging furniture, appliances and other essential items for the property. This is a hugely challenging task that requires time, energy and money.
This is where OYO LIFE steps in to solve all the problems. OYO LIFE is an ideal solution with ready-to-move-in beautifully designed homes. There is also financial freedom with minimal deposits and no lock-in periods and privacy so that users can save and spend the way they like.
The Japanese people have lapped up subscription-based services in music, video, apparel, and furniture increase, which has resulted in a change in consumer mindset from ‘owning to sharing’ resources. With more than 90% of the Japanese population living in cities, OYO LIFE is an ideal product for the Japanese citizens who prefer their housing as a service and not a hassle. Which is why OYO has decided to start the global adoption of its OYO LIFE brand and transition from its previous identity from a beautiful and magical country called Japan!
