Oyo is digging into its $1b war chest to win SEA. Rival RedDoorz isn’t worried

Photo credit: Oyo

A few years ago, the standardized accommodation market in Southeast Asia was all but nonexistent. Since then, a slew of startups have popped up in the space – Zen Rooms, RedDoorz, Nida Rooms, and Airy Rooms were all launched in 2015.

These startups buy room inventory from budget hotels and refurbish them to offer a standardized service. They then list these rooms online for customers to book.

Despite tough competition, Singapore-based RedDoorz has continued to pull ahead, offering exponentially more rooms in the region compared to its rivals.

In four years, RedDoorz has made 21,000 rooms available across 40 cities in Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Vietnam. But now, it faces a new opponent: Oyo Hotels and Homes.

The India-based behemoth entered the region with its Malaysia business in 2016. But it wasn’t until 2018 that it began seriously pursuing the territory, launching across three cities in Indonesia – which is a RedDoorz stronghold. It also ventured into the Philippines earlier this year, just a few months after saying in October that it would pump in US$200 million to win Southeast Asia.

Outside of Asia, Oyo is also present in the US, the UK, and the UAE.

Properties and rooms

According to RedDoorz, there are 125,000 properties ready to be disrupted in Southeast Asia, with a total addressable market of US$17 billion.

Here’s how RedDoorz and Oyo’s stats compare in the region:

The majority of both companies’ properties are in Indonesia.

While Oyo lags behind, it’s important to consider that RedDoorz had a head start. And looking at the regional projections that Tech in Asia received from both companies, it seems Oyo is poised to outpace RedDoorz in terms of inventory.

App and website rankings

Differences in funding

First-mover advantage

Current standing