OYO India extends furlough period for some employees by six months

OYO Hotels & Homes has announced that it is extending furloughs for some Indian employees by six months, owing to significant rise in coronavirus cases, travel ban and plummeting hotel revenues.

The hotel chain has informed that the recovery in business was taking longer than expected following India’s nationwide COVID-induced lockdown that was largely lifted in June. "The situation remains uncertain ... we don't quite know when our occupancies and revenues will recover to pre-COVID levels," Rohit Kapoor, Oyo Chief Executive Officer for India & South Asia, said in a blog post.

Post-unlock, the hotel chain was seeing up to 30% of pre-COVID occupancy levels at its Indian hotels, Kapoor added.

He further informed that, “Despite our best efforts, we don’t quite know when our occupancies and revenues will recover to pre-COVID levels. In such a situation, we do not foresee many more roles opening up anytime soon, which bring us to the way forward on LwLB.

“Given the context, we have created a set of options for OYOpreneurs on LwLB in India to make a decision that is best aligned with their long-term career goals and financial requirements. Impacted OYOpreneurs can either choose to opt for the Voluntary Separation Program (VSP) or continue the LwLB period by another 6 months until February 28, 2021. While the choice is theirs to make, we request them to attend to the several important elements to the proposal, which will help them make an informed decision,” Kapoor said in his blog post.

In the month of April, Oyo implemented salary cut and furloughed some Indian employees until August, while also furloughing thousands in its global markets.