Budget Chain Oyo Can Be a Nightmare for U.S. Hotel Operators Despite Its Hype
Photo Credit: An exterior view of the first Oyo-branded hotel in New York City, the Oyo Hotel JFK Airport in Queens, New York. Property execs says Oyo's technology doesn't work as promised. Skift / Dennis Schaal
Skift Take
Oyo has a hype machine to rival any brand. But beneath all of the disruption, some hotel owners complain its technology is unstable and lacks functionality, leaving them to clean up the mess. Growth for growth's sake may seem great for a unicorn-like valuation, but the hotel chain will need to grapple with flaws in its business model that can't keep pace.
Oyo, the self-proclaimed "world's fastest growing hotel chain," boasts that technology is "deeply embedded" in its DNA. But hotel owners and general managers in the United States scoff at the claim as their lobbies fill with overbooked guests, and front desk staff resort to emailing check-ins to headquarters because the property management system has crashed.
Skift recently visited, talked on the phone, or exchanged emails with nine hotel owners, general managers, or properties in the United States who've recently transitioned their hotels to Oyo. Several complained that the Oyo-mandated property management system frequently didn't work or has poor functionality, gives properties no ability to set room rates, offers little control over modifying or handling reservations, and leads to overbookings and poor customer service.
By giving all revenue management powers to Oyo, hotel operators were left to cope with Oyo slashing their room rates to such an extent that they sometimes trig
