There were two rounds of Interview-HR and Domain. HR round was easy to go with some basic questions. Talking about the preparation for Domain Round, I had gone through the latest news, their recent press releases and values along with mission and vision in detail. I had gone through the entire website, piece by piece, which means that I had left no stone unturned about knowing of OYO Rooms and this helped me a great bit in all the rounds. The only strategy is to showcase the company’s values in you more than the knowledge, the values are what they check in any interview. After a good preparation, I was confident during the day of my Interview, which was conducted by the Head of Business Development,OYO-Mumbai. The questions ranged from medium to hard, where the knowledge of domain round tested me on marketing concepts and I tried to relate myself with the company's requirements. Finally, a tricky question awaits at the end to me on How you could help to improvise and onboard hotels in Mumbai Sub-Urban Area to OYO, for which I answered it quite well with logical facts, so be prepared to think out of box answers! Remember, whenever at the end, Interviewer asks you 'Any question do you wish to ask about company'? There should be a clear 'yes' for that and always ask a question. I'd asked about the Recent news of Palette Resorts and OYO's China Market Penetration Strategy and It turned out to be a Masterstroke at end!I was glad when I got selected, that my journey full of learning, finally ended at a destination where I wanted.
Internship Experience:
The Summer Internship Program by Oravel Stays Private Ltd. popularly known as OYO Rooms, started with an induction program. The one-day induction program took us through the work culture, achievements, growth and the expansion journey of OYO Rooms over a period of time. We all interns, were enlightened about the OYO’s Business model and therein, got a teaser of the challenges awaiting for us in the coming twelve weeks. I knew my journey would be an exciting one when I attended a meeting with hotel owner on the very first day along with my mentor. On day two, I got to know more about my project and that is when the roller coaster ride begun!
This internship with OYO Rooms was in the functional area of Business Development.
My project was divided into stages which involved secondary research about the area and preparing a list of hotels which are to be visited, visiting those hotels in different places by doing relevant research. It not only included study about the area but also understanding the company’s requirements to expand further in that area. Primary meeting with owner and for final discussion along with company mentor and owner for on-boarding and discussing other parameters for that particular hotel to get onboarded on OYO. Regular follow-up with the earlier visited hotels which have medium and high conversion chances to arrange a meeting and generated lead. Keeping day-to-day track for having an updated sheet of hotels visited and sharing it with the company. It thereby helps the company in getting current status of hotels in that area.
My first visit begun at Dadar then covering Navi Mumbai area starting right from Thane to Panvel. But this journey was not as smooth as it seemed earlier, I faced and tackled several challenges during the course of internship. Covering Navi Mumbai Area was not an easy task, issues like double tapping and OYO dynamic model occurred. While Mumbai has a bigger market for OYO, it was time for Mumbai sub-urban to get into OYO and people visiting there to have standardized quality living spaces. The focus therefore shifted to Mumbai Sub-Urban Area stretched from Kalyan towards Kasara and from Kalyan towards Khopoli along with visiting and even staying at Matheran and many leads were generated from these areas and conversion have been done successfully.
This area is one of the most preferred destination for weekend getaways from Mumbai, Pune, Nashik and other nearby cities. Proximity from these cities and easy connectivity results in high visitor footfall in this area. Taking into consideration the important aspect here is resort, farmhouse and villa.
I’ve visited more than 450 hotels during the course of internship, generating leads of more than 40 hotels. Lead generation indirectly results to generating more business when the hotel is onboarded with OYO. I believe to have helped the company in generating
leads and its conversion of 250+ SRN’s (Sellable Room Nights) during internship.
I would sincerely like to thank the most important person throughout my internship tenure at OYO, my mentor, Mr. Anant Shukla (BDM-Supply). He was the one whom I could readily disturb for the silliest of doubts, and always received a positive response with a smile. Whenever we’re going for any meeting with hotel owner, there were always some notable tips about how can I perform better every day. The way he allotted newly joined interns during the last week of my tenure under me, really showed the faith and confidence he had on me. Most important, I’m thankful to Mr. Vaibhav Kohli (BD Head, Mumbai) for giving me an opportunity to work on this project within the organization and for constant support and motivation along with solving doubts and queries. During the final days of my internship, I was ecstatic to meet and showcase my work to Mr. Harshit Vyas (VP-Operations, Region Head-West) and interacting with him personally. To sum it all up, his words still reverberate in my ears “...we would definitely like to see you at OYO Mumbai next year!”
Internship Learnings:
A bit of advice to juniors, to participate in various Case study competitions to test your knowledge and ideas. Also, Be Updated! with Current Affairs and Changing trends and Updates of your domain and the industry. Try to analyze maximum case studies as you can during the course, It will help you for developing creative and out of box answers and a practical approach to solve the problem.
Each day at OYO made me a better individual as it was a continuous learning experience. As a spectator of this journey of mine, I could understand that difficult roads are those that actually lead to beautiful destinations. These 12 weeks, I would never forget and cherish it forever. Remember, Once a OYOPreneur, Always stays an OYOPreneurs For Rest of Life!
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