OYO founder Agarwal to forego 100 per cent of annual salary

India: Ritesh Agarwal, founder and group CEO of OYO Hotels & Homes, has announced that he is foregoing 100 per cent of his salary for the rest of the year as the company seeks to unite in the face of the impact of Covid-19 on the global travel and hospitality industry.

Furthermore, OYO’s entire executive leadership team has taken a voluntary minimum 25 per cent, with many opting for a 50 per cent cap of their annual pay to enable a stronger recovery from the effects of the worldwide pandemic.

Its management team reassured its clients of its commitment to its “OYOpreneurs” and told each of its employees in India that they will receive their full salary and benefits in full for the entirety of the national 21-day lockdown which came into effect last week.

In a statement, Agarwal said:“The current situation the world over is deeply concerning to each and every one of us. OYO is doing everything to support the world with its limited resources in this pandemic from making isolation centres to finding a safe place for first responders.

“Given the current business situation, which is unprecedented for our industry globally, I am foregoing 100 per cent of my salary for the rest of the year. I am grateful to my leadership team, that have also taken pay cuts and support the company during these tough times.

“We at OYO stand committed towards the fight against Covid-19 and will try to do everything in our control to reach out and help people while also ensuring long-term success of the company, and our ability to continue delivering on our mission to bring better living spaces for all, at the right prices, globally,” he added.

In line with the government’s direction, OYO says it has taken a series of measures to provide accommodation for frontline medical staff, aircrew, corporates and tourists, as well as foreign nationals stranded in the nationwide lockdown.

It has adopted what it calls a “two-pronged strategy” to minimise the possibility of infection and maximise social distancing and hygiene, with select hotels being identified to partner with hospitals for setting up safe, pay-per-use quarantine facilities. Other hotels will provide safe shelter to domestic and foreign tourists and travellers who are stranded in cities owing to the lockdown.

OYO has reached out to state governments across India to gauge how it can best serve the health authorities during the lockdown.

The company recently partnered with Apollo Hospitals to offer sanitised beds and facilities in certain Covid-19 exclusive hotels in close proximity to the hospitals. The partnership will be active in six major cities in India [Mumbai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Chennai, Bengaluru and Kolkata] for the purposes of self-quarantine and isolation for suspected COVID-19 patients that require medical observation and supervision.

OYO’s statement also revealed that the company had been in touch with corporate accommodation providers to support health professionals on the frontline of the fight against the coronavirus by offering flexible lodging arrangements in its OYO Hotels or OYO LIFE offerings.

For more information, visit the OYO Hotels & Homes website here.