OYO’s international ambitions lie in tatters

Like in India, hotel owners across the world are figuring out—the hard way—that OYO’s business model is all bait and switch.

Ashish K. Mishra

Mumbai

23 October 2020

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If this was a story of a gruesome murder, we would have called our protagonist the copycat killer. Except, it is a story of OYO and its shenanigans, perfected to the T in India and now exported to the rest of the world. Follow closely.

After months of harangued existence, Zodiac 21 Inc. had finally run out of patience. So, late in December last year, the company sued OYO Hotels Inc. in Louisiana, US. The details of the case are as follows. In June, OYO approached Zodiac 21 with the offer to convert to an OYO property. The company said it would provide capital for improving the property, and offer revenue management service. As part of its proposal, OYO pitched that Zodiac will become part of an international brand of hotels, that OYO will provide technology which will improve the hotel’s revenue, but more importantly once OYO takes over the hotel, it will provide Zodiac with a guaranteed income.

This was around the time that OYO was running amok, signing up hotels all

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