OYO starts apartment rental service in Japan

Indian hospitality firm OYO has started 'OYO LIFE' services in Tokyo with more than 1,000 residential units, under which it will offer fully-furnished apartments to rental home seekers in Japan.

SoftBank-backed OYO had, in February this year, formed a joint venture (JV) with Yahoo Japan Corporation to foray into the housing rental market in Japan and tap into the young population. It is the only market where OYO started with the housing rental business through a JV and is yet to start its hotel operations.

"OYO LIFE is geared to provide a hassle-free, tech-driven, upgraded living experience at an affordable price in Japan. The service has gone live with over 1,000 keys across Tokyo. We have already received over 11,000 pre-registrations and there is strong interest coming from students and young professionals," OYO Hotels and Homes founder and Group CEO Ritesh Agarwal told PTI.

OYO is already the most preferred brand in the budget to mid-segment hospitality space in many markets like India and China, and the company is confident of replicating that success in the Japanese market as well, he added.

Under OYO LIFE service, rental home seekers in Japan can get access to furnished apartments, independent houses and share-houses without the need for a security deposit, key money and introduction fees. A subscription-based membership programme - OYO Passport - has also been introduced for customers that will offer discounts and deals from hundreds of corporate partners in Japan.

Besides, OYO LIFE has also been integrated into Yahoo! Japan's search engine, main homepage, travel portal as well as real estate site Fudosan.

Founded in 2013, OYO currently has a footprint in more than 500 cities across 10 countries, including Malaysia, Nepal, the UK, the UAE, Indonesia, and the Philippines. It has over 18,000 franchised or leased hotels and over 6,000 homes on its platform. Its investors include Greenoaks Capital, Sequoia India, Lightspeed India, Hero Enterprise and China Lodging Group.