OYO expands international presence to Nepal

Just after a year of announcing its international foray in Malaysia, online hotel aggregator OYO Rooms has now expanded its presence in Nepal with the launch of its first hotel in Kathmandu.

OYO Founder and CEO Ritesh Agarwal said, "OYO has been at the forefront of the small and budget hotels revolution in India. Building the category grounds-up, we have employed technology and operational acumen to deliver delight to our customers and unparalleled benefits to partners. Our network has witnessed robust growth to become the largest in India."

"After our successful overseas foray in Malaysia, we are now thrilled to offer OYO’s hassle-free and standardised stay experience to travellers visiting Nepal," he further added.

Launched in 2013, OYO's network has grown to 7000 hotels in 200 cities. In Malaysia also, the company claims to have a network of 200 hotels.

A major reason behind Nepal's expansion plan is the data from Department of Immigration, which states that out of the 174,803 tourists who visited Nepal in 2016, the highest number were from India.

The company also noted that the travel and hospitality sector in India is witnessing a phenomenon of impulse planning. “Today, 70 percent of Indians admit to unplanned spending - from relationships to shopping, instant gratification is the new norm. At the same time, they are increasingly looking at discerning or standardised experiences; even if the purchase decision was driven by impulse,” Agarwal added.