The aggregator business model has taken India by strong. After the
likes of Ola and Uber, who definitely have made commute easier and more
reliable, it’s OYO Rooms that is in the news. And yet the brand is not
as much written about as the cab aggregators. One reason could be that
OYO panders to the cheap hotel segments and as a result most of the
opinion makers on social media have not experienced it first hand. I
don’t consider myself an opinion maker, but having read about OYO and
seen its digital presence, I decided to experience the brand. This post
is about my experience at OYO Rooms in Delhi and Gurgaon.
The Booking Experience:
I must admit booking OYO rooms with their app was a breeze. It is totally user friendly and well thought through. For my first stay in Gurgaon, I narrowed my choice by area and was immediately given options. And to help me take a decision, the hotel locator was a very good tool. It gave me precise location, with distances from important landmarks. This was very important as one tends to be unsure, specially when two three choices are available in close vicinity to each other.
The best part of the booking was that one need not pay in advance. Your booking is confirmed without payment and one day before the booking date, an automated SMS/mail is received asking to give a missed call on a particular number to confirm the booking or a missed call on another number to cancel the booking. Literally a one click option. And SMS plus email confirmations about cancelling or confirming comes through within seconds. The other feature I personally loved was the call back feature where a customer service person calls back within minutes to solve a doubt.
Only two issues. As OYO is an aggregator it must display the original names of the hotels. That helps sometimes in connecting to the hotel, finding more about it through tripadvisor or such service and more importantly it helps in locating the hotel much faster. The second is about the customer service executive. The code of the incoming call indicated that the calls originated from Bengaluru. And the pronunciations and accents of the executives were little difficult for me to decipher. Not being a racist but faced this issue twice, so mentioning it.
Must also say that once, I by mistake, dialled the wrong number and cancelled my booking. But the cancellation email had quick links for rebooking. Most convenient!
Finding the exact Hotel
As I said earlier, Oyo did not give me the Hotel name for Gurgaon. And as it was a villa converted into a hotel, the lack of signage made things difficult. The directions, as you can see in the confirmation mail, were impeccable, but I was standing right outside the Hotel and had to call to confirm its location. The directions are really good with distances from major landmarks, local landmarks etc well explained. I had no difficulty in finding my hotel in Paharganj, which for the uninitiated, is a maze of lanes and hotels. I was quite sceptical while booking a room in Paharganj as I had never before stayed in such places except in small towns but the place was barely a two minute walk from the New Delhi Station and 5 minutes to the metro station, plus the OYO booking experience made me take the leap.
Check in experience
Flawless both the times. My reservations were in order. OYO has supplied Tablets to member hotels and all my details were available to the receptionist. Both Hotels though asked me to fill registers. And yes! OYO guests were given a welcome kit. A distinct, small red pouch with soap, body wash, body cream, a small post it size pad and a branded pen. Nice touch, I thought.
The stay
In Gurgaon I had a room which was about 15 feet by 12 feet, an ensuite wardrobe and an ample sized bathroom. It was well furnished, nothing outrageous, bare minimum, but all utilitarian. The room and bathroom were spotlessly clean and so were the towels and bedsheets. There was nothing shady or covert about the place. The staff, just three people, were polite and helpful without being intrusive.
My package included free breakfast, free wifi, room with heater/ac, geyser and free parking. And all this cost me Rs 949 per night. All inclusive. I thought it was a steal. Of course the breakfast just meant choice between toast omlette and parantha with curd and butter, but I for one was not complaining. There was no restaurant but menu cards of nearby hotels and establishments were available in the room and they would deliver free of cost. I had delicious mutton biryani for Rs 200. For breakfast, a small kitchen was where the cooking was done and it was then delivered to the room. It had a nice exclusive touch.
The Paharganj hotel was a proper hotel. It had a restaurant, an elaborate room service menu and a lift for its three floors. The location by itself was great but the area was typical Paharganj. Small bylanes, dirt everywhere, crowded streets and noisy. The room was smaller than Gurgaon but again neat and competent. Bathroom was spacious and hygienically clean. The usual pouch of goodies along with free wifi and breakfast was the package again. This time for Rs 1398 per night, all inclusive. Again I was impressed.
The staff was over friendly. Guess it was a function of the location. As Paharganj caters to the low value foreign and Indian tourists, the staff was in a hustling mood. I was constantly asked if I wanted to do some shopping or go to Agra. But thankfully there were no midnight knocks or hints of any shady deals. The food had a good variety, it was delicious (I had two dinners) and neither oily, nor too spicy nor too salty. At check out time, I mentioned this to the receptionist and he did say that as they cater to a lot of foreign tourists, they try and make the food ‘more healthy.’
An aside, but worth mentioning was that almost all the staff was well versed in english. In fact the young man who got my dinner on the first night, saw me watching Two and a Half Men ( mea culpa ) and informed me that it was his favourite serial. I was slightly taken aback but he mentioned that though he finds the English and the pronunciations difficult to follow, the sub titles help him. He also informed me that he and all his friends brush up on their English by watching English serials on channels like Zee Studio, FX, Star Plus and depend upon the subtitles to understand and learn. As they come from an environment where speaking in English and talking to each other in English was rare, the English channels are of great help. For once I did see the positive side of jugaad! I wanted to chat more with him but it was his busy time and the next day was his off.
Check out
Smooth, no hiccups, no extra charges slapped. The only issue I had was in Gurgaon where they had no credit card facility. I wish I had been informed earlier. And no sooner had the receptionist checked me out on the tablet, I had my bill via email along with a satisfaction survey.
I am convinced that OYO is onto something good. I know at the moment it’s the price which is making the big splash. But trust me the deal is just not price but what you are getting for the price. If it was not for OYO, I would not have dared to stay at a Paharganj hotel. And mind you the normal room rent in that hotel was only Rs 300 more than what OYO charged me. And if I am assured that a Paharganj hotel would give me neat, clean, hygienic rooms and food, all at even Rs 2000, I would pay for it. That to me is what OYO has brought to the party.
Oh and one more thing, they are good at automated software. Today, I was looking for a place in Gurgaon on the app. But didn't book as the trip is not yet confirmed. Guess what. I had a mail within 15 minutes. With a 30% discount offer!
Sounds too good to be true? It is. Check it out yourself. And send me your feedback.
The Booking Experience:
I must admit booking OYO rooms with their app was a breeze. It is totally user friendly and well thought through. For my first stay in Gurgaon, I narrowed my choice by area and was immediately given options. And to help me take a decision, the hotel locator was a very good tool. It gave me precise location, with distances from important landmarks. This was very important as one tends to be unsure, specially when two three choices are available in close vicinity to each other.
The best part of the booking was that one need not pay in advance. Your booking is confirmed without payment and one day before the booking date, an automated SMS/mail is received asking to give a missed call on a particular number to confirm the booking or a missed call on another number to cancel the booking. Literally a one click option. And SMS plus email confirmations about cancelling or confirming comes through within seconds. The other feature I personally loved was the call back feature where a customer service person calls back within minutes to solve a doubt.
Only two issues. As OYO is an aggregator it must display the original names of the hotels. That helps sometimes in connecting to the hotel, finding more about it through tripadvisor or such service and more importantly it helps in locating the hotel much faster. The second is about the customer service executive. The code of the incoming call indicated that the calls originated from Bengaluru. And the pronunciations and accents of the executives were little difficult for me to decipher. Not being a racist but faced this issue twice, so mentioning it.
Must also say that once, I by mistake, dialled the wrong number and cancelled my booking. But the cancellation email had quick links for rebooking. Most convenient!
Finding the exact Hotel
As I said earlier, Oyo did not give me the Hotel name for Gurgaon. And as it was a villa converted into a hotel, the lack of signage made things difficult. The directions, as you can see in the confirmation mail, were impeccable, but I was standing right outside the Hotel and had to call to confirm its location. The directions are really good with distances from major landmarks, local landmarks etc well explained. I had no difficulty in finding my hotel in Paharganj, which for the uninitiated, is a maze of lanes and hotels. I was quite sceptical while booking a room in Paharganj as I had never before stayed in such places except in small towns but the place was barely a two minute walk from the New Delhi Station and 5 minutes to the metro station, plus the OYO booking experience made me take the leap.
Check in experience
Flawless both the times. My reservations were in order. OYO has supplied Tablets to member hotels and all my details were available to the receptionist. Both Hotels though asked me to fill registers. And yes! OYO guests were given a welcome kit. A distinct, small red pouch with soap, body wash, body cream, a small post it size pad and a branded pen. Nice touch, I thought.
The stay
In Gurgaon I had a room which was about 15 feet by 12 feet, an ensuite wardrobe and an ample sized bathroom. It was well furnished, nothing outrageous, bare minimum, but all utilitarian. The room and bathroom were spotlessly clean and so were the towels and bedsheets. There was nothing shady or covert about the place. The staff, just three people, were polite and helpful without being intrusive.
My package included free breakfast, free wifi, room with heater/ac, geyser and free parking. And all this cost me Rs 949 per night. All inclusive. I thought it was a steal. Of course the breakfast just meant choice between toast omlette and parantha with curd and butter, but I for one was not complaining. There was no restaurant but menu cards of nearby hotels and establishments were available in the room and they would deliver free of cost. I had delicious mutton biryani for Rs 200. For breakfast, a small kitchen was where the cooking was done and it was then delivered to the room. It had a nice exclusive touch.
The Paharganj hotel was a proper hotel. It had a restaurant, an elaborate room service menu and a lift for its three floors. The location by itself was great but the area was typical Paharganj. Small bylanes, dirt everywhere, crowded streets and noisy. The room was smaller than Gurgaon but again neat and competent. Bathroom was spacious and hygienically clean. The usual pouch of goodies along with free wifi and breakfast was the package again. This time for Rs 1398 per night, all inclusive. Again I was impressed.
The staff was over friendly. Guess it was a function of the location. As Paharganj caters to the low value foreign and Indian tourists, the staff was in a hustling mood. I was constantly asked if I wanted to do some shopping or go to Agra. But thankfully there were no midnight knocks or hints of any shady deals. The food had a good variety, it was delicious (I had two dinners) and neither oily, nor too spicy nor too salty. At check out time, I mentioned this to the receptionist and he did say that as they cater to a lot of foreign tourists, they try and make the food ‘more healthy.’
An aside, but worth mentioning was that almost all the staff was well versed in english. In fact the young man who got my dinner on the first night, saw me watching Two and a Half Men ( mea culpa ) and informed me that it was his favourite serial. I was slightly taken aback but he mentioned that though he finds the English and the pronunciations difficult to follow, the sub titles help him. He also informed me that he and all his friends brush up on their English by watching English serials on channels like Zee Studio, FX, Star Plus and depend upon the subtitles to understand and learn. As they come from an environment where speaking in English and talking to each other in English was rare, the English channels are of great help. For once I did see the positive side of jugaad! I wanted to chat more with him but it was his busy time and the next day was his off.
Check out
Smooth, no hiccups, no extra charges slapped. The only issue I had was in Gurgaon where they had no credit card facility. I wish I had been informed earlier. And no sooner had the receptionist checked me out on the tablet, I had my bill via email along with a satisfaction survey.
I am convinced that OYO is onto something good. I know at the moment it’s the price which is making the big splash. But trust me the deal is just not price but what you are getting for the price. If it was not for OYO, I would not have dared to stay at a Paharganj hotel. And mind you the normal room rent in that hotel was only Rs 300 more than what OYO charged me. And if I am assured that a Paharganj hotel would give me neat, clean, hygienic rooms and food, all at even Rs 2000, I would pay for it. That to me is what OYO has brought to the party.
Oh and one more thing, they are good at automated software. Today, I was looking for a place in Gurgaon on the app. But didn't book as the trip is not yet confirmed. Guess what. I had a mail within 15 minutes. With a 30% discount offer!
Sounds too good to be true? It is. Check it out yourself. And send me your feedback.
What a nice post and article you write up! This is really great information and informative post.. Loved this post! Thank you so much for sharing a great experiences.
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