Covid-19: OYO CEO Ritesh Agarwal Takes 100% Pay Cut For Rest Of The Year

The CEO and founder of OYO Hotels & Homes, Ritesh Agarwal will take a 100 per cent salary cut for the rest of the year and the company’s entire executive leadership team has taken a voluntary pay cut starting at 25 per cent and going up to 50 per cent to enable building the runway for the company.

The cuts will be effective April 2020, and the decisions have been taken in wake of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, which has impacted the travel and hospitality industry in a big way.

The company management has also taken several other measures to ensure business continuity including assuring that all employees in India, including over ten thousand on payroll and tens of thousands of OYO managed assets staff including lots of hotels which will open post lockdown will continue to receive their salaries and benefits without any interruptions during this unprecedented period of a countrywide 21-days lockdown.

ALSO READ: Coronavirus LIVE: PM Modi to share video message tomorrow at 9 am

“The current situation the world over is deeply concerning to each and every one of us. OYO is doing everything to support the world with its limited resources in this pandemic from making isolation centres to finding a safe place for first responders. Given the current business situation, which is unprecedented for our industry globally, I am foregoing 100 per cent of my salary for the rest of the year. I am grateful to my leadership team, that have also taken pay cuts and support the company during these tough times. We at OYO stand committed towards the fight against COVID-19 and will try to do everything in our control to reach out and help people while also ensuring long term success of the company, and our ability to continue delivering on our mission to bring better living spaces for all, at the right prices, globally,” said Agarwal in a statement.

In line with the Government’s direction, OYO has taken a series of measures to accommodate frontline medical staff, aircrew, corporates, tourists, PGs as well as foreign nationals stranded in the nationwide lockdown.

The company is focusing on a two-pronged strategy to minimize the possibility of infection and maximize social distancing and hygiene. Some of its hotels are being identified to partner with hospitals for setting up safe, pay per use quarantine facilities. Some others are focused on providing safe shelter to local and foreign tourists and travelers who are stranded in cities owing to the lockdown.

ALSO READ: Covid-19 lockdown: PM tells CMs to focus on testing, tracing, quarantine

OYO is in touch with various state governments as well as authorities to understand how some of its properties can be of assistance during this crucial period. Recently, OYO also partnered with Apollo Hospitals to offer sanitized beds and facilities in certain COVID-19 exclusive hotels it identified within its network in the proximity of Apollo Hospitals. The partnership will be active in six cities- Mumbai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Chennai, Bengaluru and Kolkata for the purposes of self-quarantine and isolation for suspected COVID-19 patients that require medical observation and supervision.

Additionally, the company has also reached out to corporates and is keen to support the lodging requirements of individuals who are at the frontline of India’s fight against Coronavirus through a combination of OYO Hotels or OYO LIFE offerings.