OYO Hotels, the world’s fastest growing chain of hotels, homes and spaces has announced its partnership with the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah, in Saudi Arabia. As a part of this partnership, OYO will provide the ministry access to its technology suite, which includes OYO OS and Krypton technologies, to enable them to deliver an elevated hospitality experience in Mecca and Medina.
With this initiative, the company has affirmed its commitment to support Saudi Arabia’s vision in 2030 to increase the number of Hajj and Umrah pilgrims to 30 million annually, and leverage technology to help ensure that thousands of pilgrims have access to quality, affordable accommodations during their visit.
The MoU was signed in the presence of HE Dr. Mohammad Saleh bin Taher Benten, honorable minister of Hajj and Umrah and Ritesh Agarwal, founder & group CEO, OYO Hotels and Homes.
OYO’s signature OS technology suite is an operating system that will assist the ministry in managing inventory, procurement, express check-ins, and check-outs in the accommodations. OS further offers apps for housekeeping and audits while introducing solutions for multiple accommodation management aspects like expense management, staff training, and engagement along with performance management for the hotel staff. All these facets come together to deliver technology-driven efficiency for living spaces. Krypton is OYO’s mobile audit app that enables timely audit of properties while assuring an excellent guest experience.
Under the MoU, OYO will work with the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah in enhancing, implementing, and auditing the standards for affordable and quality accommodations in existing buildings in Makkah, through the use of technology and proprietary applications. In the process, OYO’s technology suite group aims to create over 3,000 local employment opportunities and upgrade over 15,000 rooms.
Commenting on the developments, Ritesh Agarwal, group CEO and founder, OYO Hotels, said, “We are honoured to have been selected by the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah to provide our technology solutions as a part of Saudi Arabia’s efforts to implement their 2030 vision. By leveraging our hotel operating competencies in support of vision 2030 and harnessing OYO’s world-class OS and Krypton systems towards upgrading living spaces for pilgrims, we want to be a key partner to the ministry in helping to welcome 30 million Umrah and Hajj pilgrims.”
Governor of the General Investment Authority (SAGIA), HE Ibrahim bin Abdul Rahman Al-Omar said: “It is noteworthy that OYO is one of the first Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia and a SoftBank Vision Fund backed company to start operations successfully in the country, with the support of HRH Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the Public Investment Fund and Saudi Arabia’s General Investment Authority (SAGIA). The company obtained its foreign investment license from SAGIA a few months back and plans to invest $50 million in Saudi Arabia.”
