KOCHI:
George Manjooran is amongst the few hoteliers who have succeeded in balancing their passion and profession with equal ease. A student of medicine, George multi-tasks by running his hotel business when not saving lives. He kick started his hospitality business by investing in a property in Kochi where the idea was to cater to all kinds of travellers who visited the city including leisure or work and business, travellers which is when he got in touch with OYO. Over a period of time, he cemented an important relationship with the OYO Team and with their assistance his hotel underwent a transformation that brought it up to the OYO standardized experience.
Speaking about his experience with OYO, George Manjooran, said- “I am a full-time doctor practising in the UK with zero background in the hotel industry. We found a property, invested in it but were unable to turn it into a viable business. We knew we had a good asset and great location but no expertise in marketing and customer relationship management. With OYO, we knew both these factors will be taken care of. Since we have been working with OYO, we have witnessed an average occupancy of more than 95%. OYO’s technology is helping me be involved in the business as I am able to monitor day to day activities via the Owner app even while settled in the UK.”
Kochi with its rich cultural heritage and visually appealing sights attracts a lot of tourists throughout the year. By virtue of its location and connectivity, the city acts as a gateway to some of Kerala’s most popular tourist destinations. The Kerala Tourism Department has active plans to boost foreign tourist inflow by 100 % and domestic tourism by 30% in the next couple of years. Moreover, with the inauguration of the Kannur International airport, Kerala is the only state in India to have four international airports which will further strengthen tourist footfall ensuring a healthy economic contribution.
An example of another successful hotelier is Paul Davis Edassery who is very passionate about the hospitality industry. A simple and a project-oriented person Paul has built a strong portfolio of hotels across Kochi by working in tandem with the OYO. He says, “Hospitality has truly been my bread and butter. I love to host guests and ensure their stay is nothing but memorable. I was always inclined towards this sector hence pursuing an MBA in Travel & Tourism was just the right thing to do. I successfully completed the course in the year 2015 and since then there has been no looking back. We have successfully on-boarded 9 properties with OYO and given the positive outcome, we plan to open one more property in the coming months.”
Earlier the city lacked equipped hotels and resorts to meet the rising tourist demands. Moreover, with the 2018 floods, the travel & tourism industry was significantly affected in Kerala with increasing booking cancellations and declining interest. The situation faced by the state was unprecedented, however, through extremely well-coordinated disaster management, flood-relief and rehabilitation efforts, the state was back on its feet. Gradually tourism picked up. The hospitality records stand evidence for this as the hotels worked wonders to bring back business. OYO Hotels & Homes is no exception either.
OYO Hotels and Homes supported asset owners in quick rehabilitation and rebuilding of small hoteliers and homestay owners affected by the floods. OYO also assisted in restoration and up-gradation of the hotel properties in a record time of 15 days. OYO has been a major contributor in the changing landscape of Kochi hospitality sector by offering great customer experience and creating micro- entrepreneurs in the city.
Further OYO recently launched OYO Partner Engagement Network (OPEN)- a year-long initiative with 6 core promises for 9000+ asset owners in India. It further introduced an upgraded Co-OYO app for asset owners that provides complete visibility on all business & customer metrics. Another first of its kind initiative is Cash in Bank (CiB) facility helps asset owners get easy access to quick, hassle-free and collateral-free business advances to upgrade or renovate their buildings.
OYO has leveraged technology to deliver an elevated hospitality experience to each and every guest that visits Kochi thereby making it an attractive tourist destination.
