Airbnb sees synergy with OYO: May invest $100-200 Mn in hotel brand

OYO Rooms has been on a roll and there is no doubt in that. How this roll is going to shape the future we don’t know, but there is no denying the fundings India’s largest hospitality chain is securing from popular brands and investors.

In the latest set of developments, Airbnb, one of the world’s largest homestay aggregator is looking to acknowledge former rival OYO’s business with a $100-200 million investment.

Airbnb in itself is gearing up for a much awaited Initial Public Offering. But before that happens, the company has already acquired at the moment hotel booking application HotelTonight for about $400 million. And now it is looking to invest in OYO.

Meanwhile, the company has been securing funds from all around the world in its latest $1 billion funding round. High profile investors including SoftBank, Grab, Didi Chuxing, Sequoia Capital have already participated in the round, and Airbnb will join the group if the deal reaches a closure.

The transition from rivalry to partnership followed the OYO’s evolution from a hotel chain to a full stack hospitality service provider.

For Airbnb, India is in the top five countries in business terms, and the company wants to further improve on the performance. Considering that, the investment in OYO becomes strategic as the Indian startup more than 8,700 buildings and 1.73 lakh rooms under its purview. On the other hand, Airbnb has mere 45,000 listings, as per an ET article.

Investing in OYO also means, that Airbnb can leverage OYO’s China operations, which account for an even larger inventory than India.

Investment from Airbnb means a greater advantage for OYO in the US market, where the homestay aggregator company is based out of. OYO had launched its US operations a little while ago with a single property in Texas.

While the fund in its monetary value will help OYO with its international as well has product expansion plans, Airbnb’s brand value and market knowledge will help it in enhancing its strategy while figuring out the future of the company.

The development was first reported by The Information.