BENGALURU: The SoftBank-backed hospitality startup Oyo Hotels and Homes’ chief executive said on Wednesday (July 7) that the company’s operations would likely recover to levels seen before the second wave, but did not identify a date for a prospective public offering. “If everything goes well in India, our numbers will go back to pre-wave two in a few of weeks and then expand from there,” Ritesh Agarwal, the company’s founder and CEO, said at a Reuters Next Newsmaker event on Wednesday.
During the global health crisis, the hotel aggregator, in which SoftBank owns a 46% share and is one of its biggest bets, has faced months of layoffs, cost reduction, and losses.
However, as travel restrictions are eased and vaccines are increased, travel demand in India is steadily returning, with local tourism sites seeing increased visitation.
“Staycations are popular, and the ‘work from anywhere’ trend isn’t going away anytime soon,” Agarwal said.
He said Oyo, which aggregates bookings for India’s inexpensive hotels and allows customers to book hotels through its mobile app, might explore a public offering, but he didn’t say when.
“We’re keeping a careful eye on impending IPOs, and I’m sure our board will weigh in on our business progress and general technology company listings.”
India has witnessed many listings this year, fueled by foreign investment and demand from small investors.
Zomato, a food delivery service, filed for an initial public offering in late April, while One97 Communications Ltd, the parent company of Indian payments company Paytm, is expected to publish a draft prospectus as soon as July 12./n
