JAKARTA - Big sacrifices are needed to build a start-up company. From time, money, energy, and family. That's what happened to a young man from India, Ritesh Agarwal. Failure is normal for him. He kept trying until he accidentally saw a new business gap. That gap is the world of hospitality. His experience of observing a simple hotel in India with shabby service became an inspiration. He built his own business empire. The kingdom is called OYO Rooms.
Ritesh Agarwal grew up in a family that placed great importance on education. For his family, education was a seamless window to success. Everything related to Ritesh Agarwal's education is taken care of. Incidentally Ritesh himself often excels in academics. The aura of successful people began to be felt. Therefore, activities that begin to interfere with the child's education are being reduced. Ritesh also schemes. Every free time that is obtained is often used to explore life as an entrepreneur.
Gradually, Ritesh Agarwal began to notice that he looked different from other children his age. While other children dreamed of becoming engineers or doctors, the man born in Bissam Cuttack, India, November 16, 1993, chose to become an entrepreneur. Ritesh Agarwal's first business experience was done at the age of 13 years. He started selling SIM cards for cell phones. He is active in business.
“My parents attach great importance to formal education. I excel in academics and spend my free time developing my dream as an entrepreneur. I moved to Delhi for my graduation but I immediately had a strong urge to start building the business I've always wanted and I can't wait to get started.”
“So college didn't seem like the best use of my time. I also believe in what Mark Twain (the novelist) said about not letting school, and in my case college, distract you. This is not to underestimate the importance of formal education, but it's just not my way,” said Ritest Agarwal as written by Devir Singh Bhandari in the book Yuva Bharat: The Heroes of Today (2021).
The period of attending college became a defining phase in Ritesh Agarwal's life. The phase was full of inner turmoil for him. Because, he then chose a stressful decision between continuing his studies or taking a scholarship. Without thinking, Ratesh Agarwal chose to drop out of school rather than not get a business scholarship.
He also failed many times. He didn't give up. In failure, Ritesh Agarwal always learns a lot. In fact, learning is not only from absorption from failure, but also from experience. Like when he was 18 years old. One night Ritesh Agarwal wanted to enjoy the night atmosphere in Delhi City. The decision in fact brought Ritesh Agarwal into trouble.
When he returned to his apartment, the keyhole of the entrance door was broken. As a result he could not enter the apartment. There was no other option but for him to book a hotel room in Delhi to rest. He felt that the experience of staying in simple (standard) class Indian hotels was so unpleasant. Receptionist in sleeping condition, messy bedroom, and dirty bathroom. He also got a brilliant idea after that.
“Some time ago, he was determined to start the hotel business. Then, he went around India for observation. Its first hotel was located in Gurgaon, near Delhi. He started with a capital of 900 dollars per month in June 2013. He became a manager, electrician, receptionist, as well as an employee who sends orders to rooms,” wrote Dicky Sumarsono in the book Winning Competition (2019).
Ritesh Agarwal runs a business in the hospitality world deftly. He is willing to intervene himself in serving guests. In addition, he is also active in building a solid team. The team then developed the OYO Rooms application.
The existence of a team makes it possible to work in totality. He can also create a place to stay for travelers by perpetuating the jargon of creating quality places. Therefore, people feel comfortable staying at hotels with maximum service. What's more, at a relatively low price.
The development of OYO Rooms then made investors flock to Ritesh Agarwal. Many other small hotels have joined the OYO Rooms scheme, although not a few have rejected the OYO Rooms management. But, when OYO Rooms started to be a big hit, many of them joined.
Especially after seeing how OYO operates hotels, manages revenue, and finds customers more efficiently through the OYO application. After that, he revolutionized accommodation schemes in India, then the world. Because success at a young age is no longer a dream.
“If you think you are too young to start a business then you should think about Mark Zuckerberg and Ritesh Agarwal of OYO Rooms. They all started the business at a very young age. There are many advantages to starting a business at a young age.”
“You don't have to take care of your wife and children. If you fail, then you can immediately get up and start work. You can always try something new. Or you can go to school B to hone your skills and start all over again,” explains Mahesh Danannavar in the book Let's Startup (2017).
OYO Rooms is growing very fast. In just a few years, they have owned more than 44 thousand hotels, 1.2 million rooms, 800 cities, 80 countries. This success made Ritesh Agarwal glance at Indonesia. Bumi Nusantara is considered a potential market for OYO Rooms. Especially, because Indonesia is one of the world's tourist destinations.
Initially, OYO Rooms had to compete with apps like Zen Rooms, RedDoorz, and Airy Rooms. However, Ritesh Agarwal did not flinch. He is able to shake up his competitors. Because of that, hotels that don't have big names have turned into part of OYO Rooms. The hotels that join start from the island of Sumatra to Sulawesi.
"If you look at the OYO business concept, sales are defined as the ability and speed of business development in acquiring hotels, while operations are supporting to help accelerate business such as transformation, OTA (Online Travel Agent), and pricing."
“OYO in running its business adopts a mancis concept (management and franchise) where OYO plays a role in managing full hotel management such as hotel standardization, standardization for employees, full price control, and setting up hotel room sales channels. The ultimate goal of the hospitality business is occupancy and revenue," concluded Johhny Widodo et al in the book Building the Country Through Startups (2020).
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