OYO hires former Max Healthcare exec to head new real estate business

Hospitality chain OYO has named Rohit Kapoor as chief executive officer of its new real estate businesses, in the second top-level appointment this month.

Kapoor joins the SoftBank-backed company from Max Healthcare, where he was executive director, OYO said in a statement. 

The company said Kapoor will be in charge of driving new real estate businesses for OYO, exploring new categories and strategic initiatives.

He will also oversee strategic partnerships and investment opportunities. He will report directly to group CEO and founder Ritesh Agarwal.

Agarwal said Kapoor's appointment will help the company strengthen its capabilities and explore newer business avenues.

“Over the last five years, we at OYO, have invested in building strong capabilities in the acquisition, renovation, and upgradation of different forms to real estate. This has helped us offer our patrons unique living experiences such as OYO Living, while creating value for our asset owners," Agrawal said. 

The appointment comes barely weeks after OYO, run by Oravel Stays Pvt. Ltd, hired former IndiGo president Aditya Ghosh as CEO of its India and Southeast Asia business.

The move to hire an experienced management team at OYO comes after the hospitality chain said in September it was raising $1 billion from investors led by SoftBank in a deal that valued the company around $5 billion.

OYO didn't specify what those new real estate businesses could be. However, the company has been exploring new avenues for businesses, creating flagship properties instead of the hotel leasing business it previously worked on, making it one of the largest online platforms for hotel bookings.

In October, the company launched home rental platform OYO Living, which caters to young professionals and students. The company has also been expanding its footprint in China and other countries including Malaysia, Nepal, the UK, the UAE and Indonesia.