US-based home renting startup AirBnB has reportedly picked up a stake in Oyo Rooms. In a series E funding whose details are undisclosed, AirBnB has invested in the Indian hospitality startup valued at more than USD 1 Billion.

The investment, which is being touted at around $150-200 million, has been confirmed by Maninder Gulati, Global Chief Strategy Officer at OYO Hotels & Homes to a business daily.

“As the 6th largest hotel chain operator in the world, we at, OYO Hotels & Homes, are committed to offering our guests and travelers around the world, great quality living spaces. We are happy to have Airbnb as our partner in this vision," said Gulati to BusinessInsider.in.

IndianWeb2 first reported about the possibility of AirBnB's strategic investment in Ola, in last month.

As part of this strategic investment, Oyo’s listings will appear on the Airbnb platform, thereby increasing Oyo’s international presence and also strengthening Airbnb’s presence in the Asian markets. The Oyo-Airbnb deal will open up Oyo’s 10,000 homes and villas listings on Airbnb in India, Dubai and a few other markets.

"Emerging markets like India and China are some of Airbnb’s fastest-growing, with our growth increasingly powered by tourism to and from these markets. Airbnb will look at ways to make Oyo listings available on its platform, the San Franciso-based firm said," said Greg Greeley, president of homes at Airbnb.

The Oyo-Airbnb deal comes just a few weeks after Airbnb bought HotelTonight, an app for finding hotel rooms at a discount, ahead of an initial public offering (IPO).

In June last year, in what could be called as first business partnership in India with a booking site controller for accommodations, AirBnB partnered with AxisRooms, a Bangalore-based travel distribution solutions provider for hotels and accommodations, which is backed by Seedfund, a Vietnam-based investment advisory and consulting firm.

In 2017, AirBnB had bought Trooly, a California-based background-check startup founded by three Indian-origin entrepreneurs -- Anish Das Sarma, Savi Baveja and Nilesh Dalvi. The acquisition was aimed at to protect AirBnB users and hosts from undesirable and fraudulent people. Notably, Airbnb was also a Trooly customer since 2015.

Source - LiveMint
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