India’s OYO adds Sheffield Metropolitan Hotel to its UK portfolio  

INDIA-based booming hospitality business group OYO Homes & Hotels has added Sheffield Metropolitan Hotel to its UK portfolio.

The 112-guest room Sheffield Metropolitan Hotel is the largest addition to date to the portfolio of OYO.

Located on the bank of River Don in Sheffield, the hotel will be operated by OYO under a lease agreement with London Town Group.

British Indian Koolesh Shah is the founder of London Town Group, which owns and operates some of the UK’s leading hotels.

Oyo has inked deals with 100 hotels in 25 British towns and cities since its launch in the UK last year.

Commenting on the latest deal, Koolesh Shah, founder and managing director of London Town Group, said: “We are delighted to work with OYO as an early adopter of the brand in the UK.

“The company's growth is fueled by its success in China, with presence in 337 cities and having over 500,000 rooms, and we are pleased to offer OYO this opportunity in the UK. We feel our Sheffield Metropolitan Hotel is a perfect fit for the brand.”

Created in 1998, the London Town Group has widened its focus away from its traditional London base to explore opportunities in the East Midlands.

In addition to its four London hotels, there are four in the north — Travelodge Derby Cricket Ground Hotel, Sheffield Metropolitan Hotel, Mercure Nottingham City Centre and Ramada Leicester Stage Hotel, which was acquired in 2017.

Meanwhile, the Ritesh Agarwal-founded business, OYO, has an international presence with its hotels and homes business spread across the Indian subcontinent, China, South-East Asia, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Europe, and the US, among others.

Founded in 2013, OYO’s portfolio comprises more than 23,000 hotels and over 125,000 vacation homes in 800 cities across 80 countries.

OYO does not build or own hotels. It approaches independent hotel owners and offers to invest in their properties to improve their business. Thus, the hotels are re-branded as OYO Rooms.

The Indian business is responsible for upgrading, reshaping, and altering the hotel rooms to improve facilities in a bid to attract more customers and ultimately, improve the hotel business significantly.

It also invests with owners to transform the property itself, improving the infrastructure and the look and feel of the hotel.