Oyo launches sixth overseas operations with UAE foray, to open 150 hotels in 2 years

Softbank-backed hospitality firm Oyo has launched operations in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). This is the sixth overseas market foray by the company.

It has launched operations with over 10 inventory franchised and operated hotels in Dubai, Sharjah, and Fujairah in the UAE. The hospitality firm plans to open more than 150 hotels and 7 emirates across the country in the next two years.

Entrackr had first reported Oyo's launching Dubai operations.

OYO Founder and CEO Ritesh Agarwal sees a huge opportunity in the Middle East countries. The hospitality sector is poised to grow in the Middle East region, and we are ready to tab it with our expertise and market learning, he said in a statement.

Oyo aims to leverage its operational expertise to benefit independent hotel owners in the UAE.

Oyo has been aggressively pursuing its global expansion plan. In May, the hospitality firm has launched its service in China with a partnership with China Lodging Group. In China, it claims to have set up a base of over 50,000 rooms in the span of three months.

It has already a presence in UK, Dubai, Malaysia, China, and Nepal.

From beginning of this year, it had pivoted from aggregation to a pure-play franchise model. At present, Gurugram based hotel chain claims to operate 8,500 hotels and over 125,000 rooms in more than 230 cities in India.

Last month, it raised $1 billion round fund from existing investors including SoftBank Vision Fund, Sequoia Capital and Lightspeed Venture Partners.

Post investment, Oyo became third valuable startup in India after Flipkart ($20 billion) and Paytm ($10 billion). It has got backing from investors such as Softbank, Sequoia Capital, Lightspeed Venture and Hero Enterprise amongst others.

Update: We have updated the headline with Oyo launches sixth (not seventh) overseas operations.