Quotes of All Topics . Occasions . Authors
One big learning from Thiel fellowship was think really big and create an impact, without thinking if anybody has done it before.
When you scale up your business there will invariably be small groups of vested interests unwilling to see the new ground reality.
The only constant in my life besides OYO is Lisa, my dog. She's a Lhasa apso. The only reason I shop is to buy accessories for Lisa.
That's our thesis, to operate in a few places and make them home, rather than operate in many places and not have significant ownership.
In our education system, we're so focused on the building blocks that sometimes we try to keep the kids from looking at the larger picture.
Dropping out of college was never the plan, but it made me eligible for the Peter Thiel Fellowship. I was the first Asian to win that grant!
We are reviewing and evolving our business plan as times go. But in the long term, we remain confident about creating a large scale business.
For me as a young kid, my parents took me to random cities. I stayed at my relatives and the biggest trouble I had was watching TV on my own.
For me, it is about having a passion for solving a big problem and leaving a huge impact. Once you have that, everything else falls into place.
I was good at studies and played sports. The only difference was I had big dreams even as a child - I always knew I wanted to be an entrepreneur.
To provide affordability, we have made a few acqui-hires such as a data analytics firm to help us deliver the cheapest room prices in every town.
We use innovative technology to facilitate standardization of services, amenities and in-room experience, thereby helping maintain service standards.
We build OYO with basis of building a team which is not just great for our segment, but we possibly have the best team any start-up can possibly have.
We are the first company anywhere in the hospitality sector to introduce technology-based solutions to the suppliers side to help them manage operations.
One of the things that's consistent, if you speak to hotel owners or customers across the world, is that the proposition of Oyo is very valuable for each one of them.
On the customer side, we are continuously making enhancements to our app and activating new partnerships to make their travel experience seamless through the OYO app.
As I grew up, I was born and brought up with a view of, if you can get an engineering degree, getting a job is remarkably easy and that's the ambition you should have.
There are causes that are dear to me personally including encouraging entrepreneurship, improving livelihoods as well as helping humanitarian rescue and relief efforts.
We actually distribute using AirBnB because they're the vacation management company and they distribute us, which is why AirBnB is also a small shareholder in our company.
Hygiene is going to be a key consumer question post-COVID. Our sanitized stay offerings and commitment towards ensuring minimal contact-based check-in is an important step.
Companies that raise capital do it on the basis of past performance and unique competencies of the business. We cannot raise capital if we are not creating sustained value.
To deliver predictability, we have partnered with Biotique for in-room toiletries, Airtel for Wi-Fi and DTH, and small laundromats in cities to provide clean linen in our rooms.
From my perspective, as an entrepreneur, one is wired to take risks. You, of course, need to be smart and take calculated risks, and then do all you can to make it worth the risk.
Coorg will be the new Switzerland, Goa will be the new Thailand. If we predict these trends correctly, while market size may shrink, we will have a good opportunity to use our model.
Strong focus on customer experience coupled with strategic investments in proprietary technology has helped us maintain a high net promoter score while empowering our hotel partners.
COVID-19 is unlike any other challenge the world has faced, affecting people from every socio-economic background and causing a disruption in operations and processes across industries.
There are so many people who are dependent on me. You know, setting expectations, and then feeling afraid. But I am a firm believer in the fact that good work has always been recognized.
We have, at various levels, invented how hospitality experiences would look like. At lot of levels, we have transformed how the hospitality experience would be by processes and technology.
Showing your ID while entering or doing a manual check-out when leaving - are these the things you do at home? No. If I have them in hotels, how will you feel at home during your stay then?
Long story short, right after my twelfth grade, the six months between school and university, and that is the time when I came to Delhi and I said that let me try and build a company of my own.
We are an asset-light transformative platform that converts sub-standard unbranded hotels/unutilized vacation homes into quality living spaces, with easy to book, hassle-free check-in experience.
For people who earn on an average about RS 15,000 a month and who travel a lot, if the salary is late then the landlord will throw him out. I know how life is after that because I have been there.
Indian companies have a very exciting global opportunity, Indian companies are well-respected globally, doors of business are more open. So that has been a focus for us, how do we globalise faster?
Small hotels are going to be in vogue. In my view, small is going to be the new big, wherein people will rethink a lot about going back to that 1,000-room hotel versus going to a 40-room niche hotel.
Abhinav Sihna is my partner and the COO of Oyo, and is also the head of the United States division. He spends all of his time building out the United States market for us and has moved out here full-time.
Every weekend I would take a train to Delhi and sneak into startup events. I really enjoyed meeting entrepreneurs who were solving big problems. They were way smarter than me. I knew this is where I had to be.
Whether it is unbranded hotels, branded hotels, whatever it is, anywhere where a customer can get an experience that is subordinate but for a price that is equal or higher than the market, we want that to change.
Initially, when we were running just one hotel in Gurgaon, I used to handle housekeeping, sales, CEO duties, etc. I would literally wear the OYO Rooms uniform for housekeeping and would show the room to customers.
2017 has been a watershed year for us. We steered our growth trajectory by upgrading and bringing beautiful living-spaces in the value economy segment through OYO Rooms, while launching our operated brand Townhouse.
Post 10th grade, I came to the northern half of the country. I realized that the usual education did not excite me at all because I felt how will understanding trajectory motions in chemistry help me solve real-life problems?
Capital is always available for good companies, but the only question is value at which you raise capital. In bad times, you raise capital at low valuation, and in good times, you get a fair price. It separates winners from the rest.
My parents always wonder why I work round the clock and I never had an answer, until one day I came across a street full of Oyos. I saw so many families and friends on holiday there. This made me happy - life had come full circle in that moment!
Other people's view was that saving a rupee is a rupee earned. But for our family, earning two rupees is a rupee earned. That means spending that 1 rupee to make that happen is what it is. It is a difference of risk-taking appetite, going out and doing stuff.
I know what time a customer checked in, what he ordered, did it get delivered on time, did he order for sling bags, and so on. And when the customer checks out, he can walk out like how you get out of cabs because if you have a wallet it's completely hassle-free.
A lot of hotels have beautiful chandeliers because the asset owner is emotional about having chandeliers in the property. I always say that the customers aren't going to have chandeliers for breakfast. You'd rather take that money and give great breakfasts to the customer.
As an entrepreneur and on behalf of the company's management, I am thankful to have been given the opportunity to rededicate ourselves to the company's mission of building the world's most loved hospitality brand that is focused on bringing a better lifestyle for the common man.