Airbnb invests $200 million in OYO for Indian mart

New Delhi: SoftBank-backed OYO has raised funding from the US-based online accommodation platform Airbnb, a move that will provide the Indian hospitality chain more ammunition to stren-gthen its presence in the Indian and global markets. The investment details were, however, not disclosed.

According to sources, Airbnb is pumping in between $100-200 million (about Rs 690-Rs 1,380 crore) in the Indian firm.

“As the sixth largest hotel chain operator in the world, we at, OYO Hotels & Homes, are committed to offering our guests and travelers around the world, great quality living spaces. We are happy to have Airbnb as our partner in this vision,” OYO Hotels & Homes global chief strategy officer Maninder Gulati said in an emailed statement.

He added that Airbnb’s strong global footprints and access to local communities will open up new opportunities for OYO to strengthen and grow.

“We’re excited by the possibilities and committed to bringing benefits to the millions of travelers who can now rely on Airbnb and OYO Hotels & Homes to find a home away from home,” he said.

Greg Greeley, president of homes at Airbnb, said emerging markets like India and China are among Airbnb’s fastest-growing markets.

“Emerging markets like India and China are some of Airbnb’s fastest-growing, with our growth increasingly powered by tourism to and from these markets. In many of these markets, OYO is empowering local hospitality entrepreneurs to provide more options to more travelers...we’re excited to partner with OYO as we work to make Airbnb for everyone,” he said.

In the last few months, OYO has already raised about $1 billion (around `7,280 crore) from investors like SoftBank Investment Advisers (SBIA) through SoftBank Vision Fund, Grab and Didi, as well as investors like Lightspeed Venture Partners, Sequoia and Greenoaks Capital. The current investment from Airbnb is part of the same round.

Last month, OYO had said it will invest `1,400 crore in India and Nepal markets in 2019 as part of its efforts to increase infrastructure, strengthen technology and internal capability.

It has also started ‘OYO LIFE’ services in Tokyo with more than 1,000 residential units, under which it will offer fully-furnished apartments to rental home seekers in Japan.

OYO operates leased and franchised hotels, homes and living spaces. The company is present in more than 500 cities across 10 countries.