OYO to add 500 hotels in host cities for upcoming Men’s Cricket World Cup

Global hospitality company OYO said on Friday that it will add 500 new hotels across several host cities for the upcoming Men’s Cricket World Cup. Yh will be added over the next three months to meet the expected increase in booking demand.

The tournament, which will start on October 5 and end on November 19, will be held in the cities of Hyderabad, Delhi, Dharamsala, Chennai, Lucknow, Bengaluru, Mumbai, Kolkata, and Pune. The final match will be held in Ahmedabad. The new hotels will be strategically located near these stadiums.

Participating teams include India, England, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, West Indies and Afghanistan.

OYO says it has also seen a significant increase in demand over the duration of the tournament. Air fares around match days to host cities have also skyrocketed.

“Travel demand automatically rises whenever cricket tournament dates are announced, and this is the magic and power of this sport that connects millions together. We want to ensure that everyone traveling from far and wide to watch their favorite teams has access to comfortable and affordable accommodation,” said a spokesperson. On behalf of OYO.

This comes after OYO reported positive EBITDA in every quarter of FY23, which was its first year of earnings since the company was founded in 2012. The company expects EBITDA to remain positive for FY24. also.

In March this year, OYO redrafted the Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP) with stock market regulator SEBI under the recently introduced confidential pre-submission pathway. A source close to the company told Business Standard that the company will adjust the size of the issue based on prevailing market conditions to between $400 million and $600 million – all of which would be a primary issue to pay down most of its debt.