*This article was published in November 2016 in the magazine of Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA). You will get genuine data in Impact of Standardised Hotels in the Future of Bangladesh Tourism, where the study/story-line was based on largest Hotel Chain in India - OYO Rooms, founded by Ritesh Agarwal.

1. Reason & Consequences:
“Ummm No!” had been a companion of mine from my
childhood days. People used to say that I was utterly
perfectionist with everything and I still follow it. This
statement became a pain for my friends, family and
others when I started indulging my “Ummm No!”
everywhere.
- My dad took me to zoo to show zebra; I said
“Ummm No!”, as they were so colourless!
- My mom made a special pineapple cake on my 10th
birthday; I said “Ummm No!”, as it was a circle in
shape and I like square.
- I broke up with my girlfriend during college days and
said “Ummm No!”, as she was too caring to handle.
I have thousands of negative stories like these in my
life but are not these incidents too silly? Even I believe
these were silly until I found the next genuine “Ummm
No!” story of my life.
The story began when I finished my academics and
joined corporates as my bread and butter. With the
kind generosity of my boss, I used to travel entire
India for various official responsibilities and I had no
other choices of shelters other than local hotels
around.
My journey with real problems started from there.
Some hotels were budget friendly – some hotels were
not, few of them were in good location – few were not,
few hotel were providing free Wi-Fi & breakfast –
where some hotels started charging for everything,
few hotels were providing hygiene in case of food and
washroom – few were even struggling to provide
water in toilet.
I was perfectionist and problems were huge. Thus I
became fade up of saying “Ummm No!” “Ummm No!”
& “Ummm No!” everywhere. I needed a sustainable
solution this time. This problem was severely ham-
pering my work life balance and peace of mind. My
colleagues started suggesting me to stay in 5 Star
hotels which were certainly out of my budget as
apprised by my organisation.
My life was going parallel with these compromises,
and suddenly I found the solution in a business
newspaper ad one day.
“Ummm No!”
(Impact of Standardised Hotels
in the Future of Bangladesh Tourism)
“With every piece of ‘NO’ I had in my life, I found a ‘YES’ to compete it.”- Rahul Datta
T- INSIGHTS 015

2. Solution:
Probably I did not understand that it was not a sole
problem of mine. Many faced it and compromised,
but one person did not.
Ritesh Agarwal, a 22-year young entrepreneur and
the mind behind multi-million dollar start-up OYO,
India’s largest chain of standardised hotel. From
SIM-seller to multi-million dollar journey was not
easy nevertheless. This college dropout also got one
of the prestigious youth business scholarships
named “The Thiel Fellowship”.
Ritesh used to travel around the country for his work
and faced the same problem, and the idea of OYO
popped out from his mastermind. He started
approaching hotel owners in India to rebrand their
properties as OYO, where everything will be standard-
ised, well almost everything!
He introduced online/credit card payment to all part-
ner hotels, standard CRM desk, and standard food
including free breakfast and so on. Started in 2012 in
one single city Gurgaon in India, was not giving OYO
the gentle push in the market regarding Customer
Acquisition.
Ritesh decided to travel across India for next three
months and stay in different hotels again to find the X
factor. He started approaching hotels to allow him to
stay in those properties free of cost! Few agreed, and
most of them rejected as expected.
“People who allowed me to stay free of cost that time,
are still my magnificent friends” – said Agarwal in an
interview.
Rest is a history for OYO Rooms. Ritesh became the
touchstone of Indian business economy and also
focused his eagle eye in Malaysia too. He started
breaking his own records one after another, and if you
have forgotten, he gave a stable solution to my prob-
lem as well.
OYO Blockbusters:
OYO is now operating in more than 196 cities in India
and Malaysia.
OYO managed to raise fund year after year from vari-
ous VCs and organisations.
OYO manages more than 6500 properties day in day
out, and the number is increasing.
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3. T- INSIGHTS017
May 2013
March 2015
July 2015
September 2015
January 2016
February 2016
August 2014
April 2015
August 2015
January 2016
February 2016
OYO Launched in
Gurgaon
Series B Funding
Received
Series C Funding
Received
New OYO Logo and
Look Launched
OYO Hits 1 Million
Check-Ins
Ritesh Agarwal
Included in Forbes’ 30
Under 30 List
Series A Funding
Received
OYO App Launched
OYO Forays into
100th City
OYO Launched in
Malaysia
OYO Partners with
IRCTC
OYO at a Glance:

4. Opportunities in Bangladesh for Standardised Hotel
Concept:
Bangladesh, a sacred land of divine and greenery. The
tourism sector is mainly based on endowed natural
places here. Facilities like hotels and other business-
es are developed around these places.
Hotel aggregation business is highly potential in this
country through FDI. Since the government provides
different FDI investment incentives and facilities in
FDI and high-tech industry, a hotel business like OYO
Rooms may be a game changing in this market.
The tourism sector has 4.7% total contribution in GDP
(2015), 4.1% (2,346,000 jobs) total contribution in
employment (2015), and 1.2% of total investment
(2015). Considering the facts, Bangladesh has a
strong evidence of success to invest in this sector.
However, the sector also needs proper management
of social and legal factors which are a bit unstable in
this country. Investment in any sector through
high-tech is always appreciated for the materialisa-
tion of the Vision 2021 of Digital Bangladesh by the
Government of Bangladesh.
In online hotel booking segment, Jovago is one of the
leading competitors in this country with 484 proper-
ties listed. Besides Hotel.com, Agoda.com, Book-
ing.com, Goibibo.com & TripAdvisor.com also have
more than hundred of properties listed individually in
this country.
Bangladesh ranges a number of 3-star, 4-star, and
5-star hotels, along with many semi-standardized
and non-standardized hotels. However, according to
the report, around 500,000 foreigners visit this coun-
try every year who are mainly business officials look-
ing for standardised hotels and apartments. Also, the
citizens visit in different places of the country in vari-
ous festivals and vacations.
The road to investment is easy in this country with
few ready-made strategic locations and facilities to
partner with. People are also used to different online
marketing fronts along with offline marketing fronts.
Why Invest in Bangladesh:
Bangladesh is a winning combination with its competitive market, business-friendly environment and cost
structure that can give an excellent ROI. Few USPs of the country:
Industrious low-cost workforce.
Strategic location, regional connectivity and worldwide access.
Strong local market and growth.
Low cost of energy.
Proven export competitiveness.
Competitive incentives.
Export and Economic Zones.
Positive investment climate.
Risk factors of FDI are the minimumin Bangladesh.
Bangladesh has an open, market-based economy led by a vibrant and innovative private sector which provides the primary stimulus to its
growth.
Bangladesh has outstanding records in human rights.
Movement of capital to emerging markets like the ones represented by countries of South Asia is likely to be profitable with no added risks.
Goldman Sachs has identified Bangladesh as one of the next big eleven emerging markets.
T- INSIGHTS 018

5. 2016 Key Facts: Tourism Sector in Bangladesh:
GDP: Direct Contribution: The direct contribution of
Travel & Tourism to GDP was BDT407.6bn (2.4% of
total GDP) in 2015, and is forecast to rise by 5.2% in
2016, and to rise by 5.6% pa, from 2016-2026 to BDT
738.1bn (2.3% of total GDP) in 2026.
GDP: Total Contribution: The total contribution of
Travel & Tourism to GDP was BDT809.6bn (4.7% of
GDP) in 2015, and is forecast to rise by 6.1% in 2016,
and to rise by 6.4% pa to BDT1,596.0bn (5.0% of GDP)
in 2026.
Employment: Direct Contribution: In 2015 Travel &
Tourism directly supported 1,138,500 jobs (2.0% of
total employment). This is expected to rise by 1.5% in
2016 and rise by 0.8% pa to 1,257,000 jobs (1.8% of
total employment) in 2026.
Employment: Total Contribution: In 2015, the total
contribution of Travel & Tourism to employment,
including jobs indirectly supported by the industry,
was 4.1% of total employment (2,346,000 jobs). This
is expected to rise by 2.3% in 2016 to 2,401,000 jobs
and rise by 1.9% pa to 2,894,000 jobs in 2026 (4.1% of
total).
Visitor Exports: Visitor exports generated BDT 10.8bn
(0.4% of total exports) in 2015. This is forecast to
grow by 4.3% in 2016, and grow by 7.1% pa, from
2016-2026, to BDT 22.4bn in 2026 (0.4% of total).
Investment: Travel & Tourism investment in 2015 was
BDT 61.6bn or 1.2% of total investment. It should rise
by 6.3% in 2016, and rise by 8.8% pa over the next ten
years to BDT 151.9bn in 2026 (1.7% of total).
*All values are in constant 2015 prices & exchange rates
Travel & Tourism's contribution to GDP in Bangla-
desh:
The total contribution of Travel & Tourism to GDP
(including wider effects from investment, the supply
chain and induced income impacts) was BDT
809.6bn in 2015 (4.7% of GDP) and is expected to
grow by 6.1% to BDT859.2bn (4.7% of GDP) in 2016.
T- INSIGHTS019

6. T- INSIGHTS020
*All values are in constant 2015 prices & exchange rates
Figure: Total Contribution of Travel and Tourism to GDP
Figure: Total Contribution of Travel & Tourism to Employ-
Travel & Tourism's Contribution to Employment:
The total contribution of Travel & Tourism to
employment (including wider effects from invest-
ment, the supply chain and induced income
impacts) was 2,346,000 jobs in 2015 (4.1% of total
employment). This is forecast to rise by 2.3% in
2016 to 2,401,000 jobs (4.1% of total employment).
By 2026, Travel & Tourism is forecast to support
2,894,000 jobs (4.1% of total employment), an
increase of 1.9% pa over the period.

7. Visitor Exports and Investment:
Visitor Exports: Money spent by foreign visitors to a
country (or visitor exports) is an essential compo-
nent of the direct contribution of Travel & Tourism.
In 2015, Bangladesh generated BDT10.8bn in visitor
exports. In 2016, this is expected to grow by 4.3%,
and the country is projected to attract 173,000
international tourist arrivals.
By 2026, international tourist arrivals are forecast
to total 278,000, generating expenditure of BDT
22.4bn, an increase of 7.1% pa.
Figure: Visitor Exports and International Tourist Arrivals
Investment: Travel & Tourism is expected to have
attracted capital investment of BDT 61.6bn in 2015.
This is expected to rise by 6.3% in 2016 and rise by
8.8% pa over the next ten years to BDT151.9bn in
2026.
Travel & Tourism’s share of total national invest-
ment will rise from 1.2% in 2016 to 1.7% in 2026.
Figure: Capital Investment in Travel & Tourism
*All values are in constant 2015 prices & exchange rates
T- INSIGHTS 021

8. During a recent market survey with 60 people in Bangladesh, these reports have been found (partial):
Which of the below irregularities did you
see in the hotel? (Multiple options can
be chosen).
What kind of standard facilities do
you expect from a hotel service
provider? (Multiple options can be
chosen).
For the above standard hotel facilities, taking
how much money (per night) do you think will be
JUSTIFIED?
Tk. 800 – Tk.
999
Tk. 1,000 – Tk.
1,499
Tk. 1,500 – Tk.
2,499
Tk. 2,500 – Tk.
4,999
Above Tk.
5,000
6 25 25 4 0
T- INSIGHTS022

9. Please rate the following hotel service by its importance.
References:
OYO Rooms Official Website: www.oyorooms.com
Foreign Direct Investment in Bangladesh (1971-2010). (November 2010). © Board of Investment, Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh
Trade and Business Opportunities in Bangladesh: www.dhakachamber.com/home/Trade_Opportunities_Foreign_Investment
Travel & Tourism ECONOMIC IMPACT 2016 BANGLADESH; World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) http://www.wttc.org/-/media/files/reports/econom-
ic-impact-research/countries-2016/bangladesh2016.pdf
Direct project work of students (Nasrin Sultana, Rahnuma Tasnim, Susmita Devi, Tanjina Afroz, Tasnova Chowdhury, Saikat Das, Mohammed
Sanjidul Anwar, Hossian Mohammed Arshad Ullah, Mahmuda Airin, Wasik Sazzad Asafe, Sharjeel Islam Chowdhury) of various universities under my
guidance.
Rahul Datta is an international business consultant, global trainer,
speaker & serial entrepreneur. Mr Datta is currently working in Bangla-
desh as Senior Trainer & Consultant in LICT Project, Govt. of Bangla-
desh which is funded by The World Bank and implemented by Ernst &
Young. He is also Visiting Faculty and Consultant to various universi-
ties and organisations across the globe.
Mr Datta is a Master in Business Administration from WB University of
Technology (India), Executive Finance from India Institute of Manage-
ment – Kashipur (India), Diploma in Online Marketing from Northern
Council for Further Education (United Kingdom).
For business enquiry & consultation Mr Datta can be contacted at:
contact@rahuldatta.in
Copyright © 2016 by Rahul Datta
All rights reserved. No part of this article may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other
electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author.
For permission requests, write to the author at contact@rahuldatta.in
T- INSIGHTS 023