OYO employees have collected ₹1 crore to help Chinese colleagues affected by coronavirus

• Ritesh Agarwal, founder and CEO, OYO, has said that a fund of over 1 mn RMB (around ₹1 crore) has been set up.
• The employees in China have been asked to work from home, whereas global executives are donating their salaries to help employees in China.
• It’s also giving full refund to all OYO booking cancellations until February 29 in China.

OYO, which is the largest hotel chain of China, has come out in support of its employees infected with Coronavirus.

Ritesh Agarwal, founder and CEO, OYO, has said that a fund of over 1 mn RMB (around ₹1 crore) has been set up through contributions from its employees all around the world, to help the infected employees and their families.

In China, over 40,700 people have been infected by the deadly coronavirus and the death toll has gone over 900.

It also said that all its employees can work from home until February 16. Also, its global executives are donating their salaries to help them. OYO has also sent over 60,000 masks to its employees in China.

“It is honestly not about the amount, but it’s about giving back the love and support we have been lucky to receive from the benevolent and resilient Chinese society. Our efforts may seem like a drop in the ocean, but we know that the ocean will be a drop less without it,” wrote Agarwal in a blog post.

It’s also give full refund to all OYO booking cancellations until February 29 in China.

“We will offer an exemption of commission for newly signed and re-signed hotel owners. The commission will be exempted for 60 days in severely affected areas, and for 30 days for other areas. The brand transformation fee will be put on hold and will be charged as appropriate once the epidemic is over,” wrote Agarwal.

OYO had become the largest hospitality chain in China in June 2019, barely two years after entering the market. It is present in over 337 cities and has 500,000 rooms in the country and has hired over 10,000 people

SEE ALSO
OYO claims it has turned around its Japan business – calls 2020 ‘the year’ to focus on profitability
Coronavirus: Over 900 dead in China, and 40,000 infected