All is not OK at Oyo Rooms in China and in India. The hotel network is facing trouble in both the countries. According to reports, Oyo China is planning to lay off a thousand employees, reducing the strength of its development team from 3000 to 2000. This comes as a shock as Oyo is amongst the largest hotel chains in the country.
However, Oyo denies any such mass layoffs saying that it employees have left under normal circumstances, and that it has hired far more people—more than 1500 in June itself— than the number that have left. Oyo Rooms has also conveyed that it will be investing $100 million to expand its business by 2021.
Adding to Oyo’s troubles, about 67 hotels that are members of the Kerala Hotel and Restaurant Association (KHRA) have gone on a strike against Oyo Rooms. They refuse to accept any bookings under the Oyo network.
Apparently, the hotel owners are made to bear the burden of the online discounts offered to Oyo customers. In the past it was Oyo that covered up for the reduction in profits as a result of the discounts offered. Also, the hotels are unhappy with the long and time consuming process of clearing payments. Apparently, it takes almost a month for Oyo to clear payments. Even those who wish to quit the Oyo network find it difficult to do so. Not only is the process of leaving a long and cumbersome one, but all the customer data is also taken away from them.
