OYO’s Chinese rivals merge amid coronavirus outbreak
OYO's Chinese rival H Hotel, a budget hotel chain backed by Shanghai-based hospitality group Huazhu and venture capital firm IDG Capital, has now been merged with Huazhu's economy hotel brand Elan, according to an announcement by the Huazhu Group on March 9.
OYO's Chinese rival H Hotel, a budget hotel chain backed by Shanghai-based hospitality group Huazhu and venture capital firm IDG Capital, has now been merged with Huazhu's economy hotel brand Elan, according to an announcement by the Huazhu Group on March 9.
Separately, Huazhu Group agreed in 2017 to make a USD 10 million equity investment in OYO to become a minority shareholder (with a less than 5% stake), according to Huazhu's 20-F filing to the SEC in 2019. The Indian budget hotel chain is heavily funded by Japan's Softbank.
H Hotel completed its series A funding led by the Huazhu Group and IDG in 2019. Since its establishment in November 2018, H Hotel has made quick moves franchising a total of 2,500 small hotels in Chinese cities of the top three tiers as of 2019. Elan Hotel, on the other hand, has more than 600 hotels in its portfolio.
The merger between the two brands did not come as a surprise amid the coronavirus outbreak.