Marketing Strategy and SWOT Analysis of OYO Rooms

When you are traveling, one of the most significant aspects of your vacation is where you are going to stay. It is always nice to return to a comfortable bed and a homey room at the end of an exploring day. There is one awesome global platform that collaborates with over 157000 hotels and homes in 35 countries. We are talking about OYO Rooms today. The latter has only been established in 2013 and has managed to gain success over the years. Thus, we are going to dive deeper into its marketing strategies to unravel the story behind its success.

To begin with, we are going to introduce the mission and vision statements of OYO Rooms.

The mission statement of the company is the following.

“OYO is a global platform that empowers entrepreneurs and small businesses with hotels and homes by providing full-stack technology that increases earnings and eases operations. Bringing affordable and trusted accommodation that guests can book instantly.”

What is more frustrating than not being able to find a hotel room in your desired place? We have all been in a situation like such where we planned a trip but could not find a place to stay.

Hence why OYO has worked effortlessly to make booking a room as easy as possible. The booking process can simply be done through OYO’s website. You can choose what kind of room you want, how many people are going to stay there, etc.

Then the website will show you the best available options of rooms that you can purchase.

What is more impressive is that the prices of those rooms are comparably affordable. Nobody wants to spend all their money on a hotel room during vacation.

Also, OYO Rooms is an amazing opportunity for entrepreneurs and small businesses. They can not only gain better recognition but, of course, earn more customers through this platform.

Next up, let us look at the vision statement of OYO Rooms.

“To offer the ‘OYO Rooms experience’ to every business, leisure, and pilgrim traveler across 100 cities through a network of 10,000 hotels.”

Again, what OYO Rooms has in mind is to take away the stress of finding a place while traveling. It works with over 10000 hotels, making it easier to find every kind of room a customer may desire.

Also, it does not matter whether you are on a business trip or on a trip for fun. OYO Rooms has got you covered in all cases, cooperating with hotels in more than 100 cities.

In the vision statement, we can see ‘OYO Rooms experience’. The company has done its job in making itself a signature encounter. So, it does not need to explain the whole occurrence step by step. All it has to do is mention ‘OYO Rooms experience’, and it will attract a great number of consumers.

Furthermore, we are going to look at this Instagram post to find out the archetype that OYO Rooms belongs to.

The post is pretty focused on friendship. In the photo, we see a girl and a dog out on a venture somewhere in the mountains. And then the caption makes everything a bit more clear.

‘Dosti nibhana’ means true friendship in Indian. The post is advertising its giveaway. All that an OYO member has to do is to mention a friend, and they will receive a great reward. The latter is in the form of free stays and some money.

But there is just one more step left. The participant has to do all of this through OYO’s app. This is a smart way to promote the company’s mobile application.

So, what does this post tell us?

First of all, the dog and the girl in the photo are in a place that nobody appears at casually. They are taking a risk and exploring the world surrounding them.

The second hint we see is individuality. The photo spreads a message all about finding oneself through their own desired way.

And the last thing that we can call on is the continual goal of having fun in different ways. In this case, it is all about a bonding moment between friends. That, as we know, leads to a more fulfilling life.

It becomes evident through these hints that the archetype that OYO Rooms belongs to is the Explorer.

What do we know about this archetype?

Desire: the freedom to find out who you are through exploring the world​

Aim: to experience a better, more authentic, more fulfilling life​.

Strategy: journey, seek out and experience new things, escape from entrapment and boredom​.

These are the messaging levels of the archetype.

Level One: Alienation, dissatisfaction, restlessness, yearning, boredom​

Level Two: hitting the open road, going out into nature, exploring the world​

Level Three: seeking your own individuality, to individuate, to become fulfilled​

Level Four: expressing individuality and uniqueness​

The Explorer archetype might provide a good identity for your brand if:

• your products encourage people to feel free, are nonconformist, or is discovering in some form​
• your product is strong and sturdy or is suitable for use in nature, on the road, or in critical environments or professions​
• your product can be bought from a catalog, the Internet, or another source​
• your product helps people show their personality (e.g. fashion, furnishings)​
• your product can be purchased and used “on the go”​​
• your organization has an Explorer culture

Now, we are going to discuss the SWOT analysis of OYO Rooms.

Strengths

Standardization: Of course, the rooms that OYO takes upon itself are assets of different providers. But they have a standardized OYO permit. That, in turn, guarantees the ‘OYO experience’ in the different OYO rooms worldwide.

Ever-growing network: Initially, what OYO had was a one-room resort in Gurgaon. The picture now looks so different. OYO Rooms currently owns 86500 hotels to its credit. As if that was not enough, the company also collaborates with over 4000 motels and homestays.

Spirit of innovation: At the beginning, the idea for OYO Rooms was a one-stop shop for a budget visit in India. That, by itself, was an innovative idea at the time. Till now, the company does not fail to keep introducing innovations into its business.

Subsiding hotel stays: Just like Ola and Uber, OYO also cares about making its services affordable. OYO finances different rooms to make them more low-cost for consumers.

Young and highly spirited leader: The establisher of OYO is a fantastic entrepreneur who always has a new message to convey. His name is Ritesh Agarwal. Because of him, OYO continually takes upon up-to-date methods to remain successful.

Weaknesses

A strategy of co-branding: OYO advertises a lot of rooms for its consumers. However, a weak point of the company, is that it does not have a hold on any of the rooms. OYO acts more as a mediator between the buyer and the seller.

Poor service quality: OYO has been performing exceptionally at offering rooms. It makes sure that customers are happy with the amount of money they pay. However, we can not say the same thing about OYO’s services. The quality and reliability of the services of OYO are pretty controversial.

Tight margins: Some hotels that are currently cooperating with OYO can also take upon other companies like such. If that happens, OYO cannot interfere by any means. That makes the pattern of OYO’s marketing grow purely from the margins they give their hotels. At the end of the day, that can cause uncertainties for OYO.

Opportunities

Growing demand for aggregators: The world revolves around the outcomes of recessionary trends, pay cuts, and job declines. That makes it challenging for higher-end hotels to keep up with supply and demand. That broadens the range for accumulators such as OYO. That is because a considerable number of hotels would fancy getting outer care for their new businesses.

Focus on budget accommodation: People these days tend to be smarter with the way they spend their money. Especially young people choose to save up some of their income. Hence why they are more likely going to choose budget hotels. That, in the long run, makes the job of OYO Rooms worth it.

A surge in the number of business travelers in emerging economies:

In developing economies, more people are starting to go on business trips. Thus, of course, they are going to think more and more about their budget. Which, again, increases the demand for companies like OYO Rooms.

Threats

Competition: Every upcoming entrepreneur is facing accumulating services. That is because the blocks to entry are lowered. Lots of online portals such as Trivago, Makemytrip, and Ibibo suggest variations of services comparable to OYO.

Growing concerns about safety: As of now, travelers face threatening stays. They can, for example, be harassed by hotel staff. Unfortunately, that is something unpredictable and a massive threat to hotel companies.

Last but not least, we are going to watch this video to find out the segment that OYO Rooms has chosen to target.

The video is about a group of friends out on an adventure. Then they get to an OYO house with a huge pool. It appears that the house is near the beach since we also see them there by the end of the video.

The video is pretty straightforward, and there are only a few things that we can gather from it.

The major hint that we get is the central focus on friendship. This encounter would not have happened if it was not for an amazing group of friends.

The tendency to explore new places is the second thing we notice. On the go, they decide to run to that house.

It becomes evident by this point that the segment that OYO Rooms has chosen to target is Conscious Progressives.

Lifestyle and values: This segment is known to be an intellectual one. They make use of every opportunity that allows them to learn something new.

Every once in a while, Conscious Progressives make impulsive decisions. However, more often than that, they think their decisions ahead.

Conscious Progressives value attractiveness, which is not limited to physical appearance.

Beauty is about what a person offers with intellect, personality, mindset, and knowledge.

This segment is socially active. That skill helps them make friends everywhere they go. These friends accompany Conscious Progressives in a great variety of places. It could be a bar, a cinema, the beach, or home. As long as this segment is around friends, that is all that matters.

The key path to success is education. This segment is usually either still studying or a fresh graduate. Mindfulness is a considerable aspect of this segment’s confidence.

This segment also enjoys being a good example for the people surrounding it. Whether those people are colleagues, classmates, or friends, Progressives always have something to teach.

Although this segment wants to be at the top of their career, it will never happen with great sacrifices.

​Progressives love challenges in the workplace. Their work is so much more than themselves, and it affects a lot larger groups. Performing greatly at work is helpful for the company they work for. That is a big motivation for this segment.

Conscious Progressives consider their family to be a central part of their life. How their family feels about their choices is important to consider.

In love, this segment looks for someone similar. If Progressives are in a relationship, then it is going to last.

Attitude towards shopping:

This segment enjoys watching well-thought-out ads. Of course, entertainment is a vital aspect of ads. But ads should also form trust between the customer and the business.

The functionality of a good is more important than how it looks. Of course, everybody loves their clothes to look nice. But comfort is more important.

Sometimes Progressives will purchase luxurious items because they prefer quality over quantity. But if they have invested in a luxurious piece, the latter is practical for sure.

Other interesting facts:

Conscious Progressives

• are socially active
• have an intelligent viewpoint
• are eager readers
• are curious about the world we live in and are constantly on the lookout for something new and uncommon to discover
• do not desire to be mainstream, but are also not far away from being mainstream
• are above average media, and radio users
• read the newspaper for staying up to date with everything occurring in the world
• use the internet a lot

And that was the Marketing Strategy And SWOT Analysis of OYO Rooms blog. We did a deeper review of its different marketing tactics to understand the story behind its success better. If this got you interested, do make sure to check out our main website. There we constantly update our feed with something new.