OYO Opens New Training Campus In Gurugram, Aims To Train 1 Lakh Hospitality Personnel

Online hotel marketplace, OYO Rooms has opened a new training campus in Gurugram, Haryana. It plans to train 1 Lakh people in order to create a pipeline of skilled workforce for the hospitality industry.

The Gurugram-based company was founded by Ritesh Agarwal in 2013. It is backed by Lightspeed Ventures, Sequoia Capital and Green Oaks Capital. OYO Rooms has more than 6500 hotels under its brand and a 1 Lakh+ loyal customer base.

Ritesh Agarwal, CEO and founder, OYO said, “We have established a skill training institute which will provide a platform for recognition of prior learning through informal and on-the-job learning for hospitality workers. The main office will house 2,000 employees presently.”

OYO is also likely to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Haryana Government for the same. The campus was inaugurated by Haryana’s Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar who said that ventures like OYO help creating jobs at comparatively lesser investment.

OYO started from Gurugram in 2013 and touched the 100-city mark in 2015. Currently, it provides services in more than 223 cities including all the metros.

OYO had raised funding from VentureNursery and a seed round from Lightspeed Venture Partners and DSG Consumer Partners in 2014, and later it raised $4.5 Mn (INR 30 Cr) from Sequoia Capital in October 2014. In March 2015, it raised over $25 Mn in a funding round led by Greenoaks Capital and Lightspeed and Sequoia at a valuation of $100 Mn. In August 2015, OYO Rooms raised $100 Mn funding led by SoftBank Corp and others. In April 2016, OYO Rooms raised $100 Mn in its fifth round of funding from existing investors.

In January 2016, OYO marked its entry in the Southeast Asian market with the launch in Malaysia. OYO’s major competitors include Wudstay Hotels, FabHotels, Treebo Hotels and GoStays.

This development was first reported in ET.