India’s hospitality chain OYO Hotels and Homes yesterday made the announcement of the appointment of Mandar Vaidya as the CEO for Middle East and South-East Asia effective from 1 August 2019.
The appointment has been done in a move to drive growth and scale operations in South-East and Middle East markets. Vaidya is responsible for driving business growth in the two regions wherein, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Vietnam, UAE and Saudi Arabia are the primary markets.
About Mandar Vaidya
Vaidya has earlier worked with McKinsey and Co. for 15 years, from 2002 to 2017. And also taught led a problem-solving course at Ashoka University’s Young India Fellowship programme.
“Vaidya has a problem-solving attitude which is necessary as we move towards our goal of transforming the global hospitality landscape. These two markets are crucial to our international expansion strategy and in a brief period of time, we are delivering high-quality accommodation experience to guests in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam, UAE and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.”
– Ritesh Agarwal – CEO & Founder, OYO Hotels and Homes
The Hindi BusinessLine
According to The Hindu BusinessLine, OYO has committed $200 million investment in South-East Asia.
OYO’s growth in the Middle East so far
Back in February, OYO signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Saudi’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) to tap investment opportunities and create new jobs for Saudis. Plus, OYO has already launched its Capital O in the UAE last month in order to provide affordable stays to business travellers.
India’s hospitality unicorn currently manages over 1,800 rooms and 105 hotels in five emirates – Dubai, Sharjah, Ras Al-Khaimah, Fujairah and Ajman. Out of which Dubai alone comprises of 70 hotels. OYO is projected to be manging 12,000 rooms across 150 hotels in the UAE by 2020.
In Saudi Arabia, OYO currently manages over 80 buildings and properties in over 10 Saudi cities, including the capital and financial hub Riyadh, Jeddah, Dammam, Taif and Abha.
ⓘ Image credits: OYO Facebook
