Oyo eyes new uses for quarantine, healthcare workers amid second wave virus siege

Rohit Kapoor is expecting things to get better in the next two months or so.

 Hospitality firm Oyo is seeing new use cases for its hotels- as quarantine centres and a place for COVID-infected patients and their close ones to stay - as the second wave of the coronavirus rips through India infecting a record number of people.

“Right now with the pressure on hospitals, only the really sick and people who need to be in hospitals should be in hospitals. We are working with a lot of hospitals for extensions, which means their capacities are full, and people with milder symptoms can be moved to hotels for care. Or for healthcare personnel to stay next to hospitals in an Oyo,” Rohit Kapoor, CEO of India and South East Asia, Oyo, told Moneycontrol in an interview.

He adds: “We are working with Lady Hardinge, Ambedkar, Lok Nayak Hospital- dozens of them. We are talking to at least 50 hospitals and many corporate leaders, who want to do mass vaccination drives and need spaces for that. The entire organisation is aligned to serve society at this point in time.”

Patients and their relatives staying at Oyos near the hospital, or toll plaza and other critical service workers using their hospitals rather than travelling up and down and risking contact with more people, are some of the new use cases the company is anticipating.

The last 12 months have been tumultuous for the hospitality industry and Oyo in particular, as the Softbank-backed hospitality firm retreated from markets, laid off thousands and reconfigured its strategy in a pandemic-ravaged world.

However, from December last year Oyo had been recovering steadily and its India business broke even on an Earnings Before Interest Taxes Depreciation and Amortisation (EBITDA) basis, Kapoor reiterated.

“I want to clearly say that it is looking quite bad right now, but equally we have seen it end in many countries. What’s happening in the country is not in our control but what we do for our employees, partners and customers is in our control. Healthcare advice and access to some kind of counseling are important. For example, we’ve launched a 24/7 app-based doctor on call helpline for all our employees,” he said.

“We’re very confident in our tech and product-backed cost structure. The board is comfortable and confident of our core ability to grow and generate profits. It has been proven in these four months,” Kapoor added.

He did not specify how many people are using Oyo properties for quarantine or how this will increase occupancy, but said the company is also actively talking to state governments to arrange isolation facilities to help government hospitals.

It also helps the company that having seen the first wave of the virus last year, it is better prepared this time around. “What’s happening in the country is challenging for many people, professionally and personally. The fact that we have seen this last year helps us with some guardrails. Last year there was no playbook. We are mentally far more prepared to take on the challenge,” said OYO’s India and South East Asia CEO.

Kapoor stressed that rather than business, the well-being of its employees, and reassuring its customers, hotel partners and employees were of utmost importance.

“We are super focused on the short term because we know the long term is robust. The entire energy of the company is going in reassuring customers, partners and employees. They need that reassurance and that’s the biggest priority,” he said.

India reported 2, 95,041 new cases on April 21- a fresh record, along with 2,023 deaths. If the situation worsens, Kapoor did not comment on whether Oyo may have to consider cost cutting and layoffs once again and termed the possibility as speculation.

He also did not comment on how much money Oyo currently has in the bank. A Bloomberg report in December last year said that the company has a billion dollars in the bank, meant to last, until it goes public at some point.

Kapoor is expecting things to get better in the next two months or so. “I think in eight weeks time, you will see the markets come back again. I do think that once cases reduce and more of the population is vaccinated, people will travel in an accelerated manner. They don't want to just be cooped up,” he said, optimistically.