A STUDY ON CUSTOMER PREFERENCE AND DECISION

MAKING TOWARDS OYO HOME SERVICES IN KERALA

PROJECT REPORT

Submitted by

SONY SEBASTIAN
FIT19MBA105

Under the guidance of

Dr. A J JOSHUA
in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the award of the Degree of

MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

of

A P J Abdul Kalam Technological University

MBA, FISAT BUSINESS SCHOOL, ANGAMALY

MARCH 2021
 DECLARATION

I undersigned, hereby declare that the project titled “ A STUDY ON

CUSTOMER PREFERENCE AND DECISION MAKING TOWARDS OYO HOME
SERVICES IN KERALA” submitted in partial fulfillment for the award of Degree of
Master of Business Administration of A P J Abdul Kalam Technological University is a bona
fide record of work done by me under guidance of Dr. A J JOSHUA, Director, Fisat
Business School. This report has not previously formed the basis for the award of any degree,
diploma or similar title of any university.

DATE: 27.03.2021 SONY SEBASTIAN

 CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that the report titled “A STUDY ON CUSTOMER

PREFERENCE AND DECISION MAKING TOWARDS OYO HOME SERVICES IN
KERALA” being submitted by MINNU JOSE, FIT19MBA105, in partial fulfillment of the
requirements for the award of the Degree of Master of Business Administration, is a bona
fide record of the project work done by SONY SEBASTIAN of MBA Marketing, FISAT
Business School.

Dr. A J JOSHUA
Director
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to thank Dr. A J Joshua, Director, FISAT Business School, for the support and
encouragement throughout my study in Master’s Degree in Business Administration.

I would like to express my profound gratitude to all those who have been instrumental in
preparation of my project report. I wish to place my deep gratitude to my guide Dr. A J
Joshua, for the guidance and encouragement offered to me on the making of this report.

It would be injustice to proceed without acknowledging those vital supports I received from
my beloved classmates and friends, without whom I would have been half done.

I also use this space to offer my sincere love to my parents and all others who had been there,
helping me walk through this work.

SONY SEBASTIAN
 TABLE OF CONTENT

Sl. No. Topics Page No.

Executive Summary

1 INTRODUCTION

1.1 An Introduction to the Study

1.2 Statement of Problem

1.3 Relevance & Scope of the Study

1.4 Objectives of Study

2 INDUSTRY PROFILE

2.1 Business Process of the Industry

2.2 Business Models of OYO

2.3 Market Demand & Supply

2.4 Contribution to GDP

2.5 Revenue Generation

2.6 Type of Competition

2.7 Factors that influence competitiveness in the

hospitality Industry

2.8 Competitors of OYO in Hospitality Industry

2.9 Pricing Strategy

2.10 Prospects and Challenges in the Hospitality

Industry

2.11 Key Drivers of Hospitality Industry

3 LITERATURE REVIEW

3.1 Brief theoretical construct related to the problem

3.2 OYO in Hospitality

3.3 Theoretical Framework

3.4 Loyalty Dimensions

3.5 Relationship between Customer Satisfaction and
Loyalty
3.6 Revenue Model

3.7 Precisely Oyo Rooms is running in Loss

3.8 Consumer Decision Making Process

3.9 An Overview of Earlier Studies

3.10 Uniqueness of the Study

4 METHODOLOGY OF THE STUDY

4.1 Research approach and design

4.2 Sources of online data

4.3 Sampling design

4.4 Data Analysis Package

4.5 Data analysis tool

4.6 Report Structure

4.7 Limitations of the Study

5 ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

6 FINDINGS OF THE STUDY

7 SUGGESTIONS & CONCLUSION

BIBLIOGRAPHY
 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The research was done to study the customer decision making process in choosing a home
stay as well as their preferences towards OYO Home stays. So that company can be able to
formulate better marketing strategy to withstand in the market. In many times, customer does
not get a room at most of the big hotels as there are many hotel rooms are vacant at nearby
places, hence the demand and supply does not match. In some places the supply is excess and
demand is less and vice versa. In this context the main business of the OYO is to match the
existing demand and supply of the market. With the introduction of OYO Home stays, the
company provides the home stays at a cheaper rate. Hence the customer will get a comfort
stay in different location instead of hotels and lodges. One of the main advantages of OYO
homes over other hotels and lodges are the customer gets homely atmosphere and security.
They are the first and most players in this particular segment in India. Hence it is important to
identify the factors which determine the customer decision making process in choosing OYO
home stay services as well as the customer preferences. Also with in the short time span the
chance of new entrants might enter into the particular segment

The survey was conducted among 121 respondents which include customers of OYO
Homes in Kerala. A well-structured questionnaire was administered to respondents to collect
primary data. Secondary data was gathered from the company brochures, websites and other
books. The data was analyzed by using software packages like Microsoft Excel and SPSS for
further conclusions.

Major findings of the study showed that 40.5 % people use OYO Homes for family vacation
lodging.15.7% use the service for business/official trip lodging. The respondent used the
OYO Homes foe local event lodging are 10.7% and 14% of the respondent uses the service
for temporary living lodging. 19% of the total respondent uses the OYO Homes for other
purposes. Hence the most of the customer uses the OYO Homes services for family vacation
lodging and, 47.9 % of the respondents were students.25.6 % of respondents were salaried.
18.2% of respondents had self-employed business and 8.3 % of them were professional. Here
most of the respondents are students and salaried. Certain tests are performed to check out the
factors that are highlighted by most of the customers. It could be identified that the major
factors that influence the perception towards OYO Home services provided by OYO are
Consistent, Convenient, and Coverage. Comfortable, Reliable, and provide Quality Home.
 CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
 INTRODUCTION

Introduction to the study

Customer preference is a measurement used to quantify the degree to which a customer is

satisfied with a product, service, or experience. It measures how a customer feels a few brand
interactions. Many terms in business are nebulous and vague. Customer preference is one of
those terms.

A portion of the attributes and exercises of an effective in business are appropriate

introduction and steady improvement of subjective administrations, which surpasses the
desires for clients all around including from pre-booking to post-remain. The selection of inns
ends up one of the principle issues of dialog: the assortment of the inn administrations,
quality, dependability, and cost are significant. Since there are numerous inns in the market
giving the equivalent or comparative administrations, it is significant not exclusively to pull
in yet additionally to keep the client in your inn for the long run (known as visitor
maintenance). So as to keep up the position held and to contend in future, it is important to
give quality administrations by which old clients (supporters) might be held, and new clients
(counting millennial voyagers) might be pulled in. Administration quality and consumer
loyalty is basic for the administration survival. So what are they? Then two are immaterial
however the precise definition is as yet a dubious issue. Consumer loyalty is a mental idea
that includes the sentiment of prosperity and delights those outcomes from getting what one
trusts in and anticipates from an engaging item as well as administration. Consumer loyalty
definition depends on the desire disconfirmation perspective.

At OYO Homes, Kerala, Customers Prefer stay Homes because of local serene and tourist
Places. To maintain Privacy and No disturbance during stays tourist prefer Home stays than
local lodges or hotels. Expectations of Customers from Home stays is completely different
than that of Hotel stays and Study revealed that Customer preference depends on providing
suitable check in Check out times and Budgeted stays along with Clean and hygienic Linen.

OYO, an online lodging booking administration association is getting notoriety all over India
for their inventive and innovation based administrations. The clients are getting to be
educated and are utilizing Web for booking lodgings on the web. It is essential to know the
variables that are deciding the buyer evolving conduct. The motivation behind the paper is to
comprehend the components impacting client choice in remain at OYO. An exploratory
examination utilizing Purposive inspecting overview was completed for the reason. Head
Segment Examination directed on 98 reactions uncovered five factors that clarified 59% of
the variety is Seen administration quality measurements. The variables were observed to be
legitimate and dependable.

The organization timed incomes of Rs 327 crore in its independent outcomes for the money
related year 2017-18, a 200% bounce from last the monetary year. The organization had
posted incomes of Rs 108 crores in its independent outcomes for money related year 2016-
17.All out costs for the monetary was accounted for as Rs 638 crore. In financial 2017-18,
OYO 39 worker expenses went up to Rs 252 crore, Oravel Stays Private Limited, trading as
OYO, is India’s 39th largest hospitality company, consisting mainly of mainly budget rooms
and home stays. It was founded in 2013 by Ritesh Agarwal and has since grown to over 500
cities in India, China, Malaysia, Nepal, the UK , the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, the
Philippines, Indonesia and Japan, and operates 450,000 rooms globally as of January 2019.
OYO‘s headquarters is in Gurugram, Haryana. OYO has revenue of $216.2M, and 10,000
employees. OYO has raised a total of $1.8B in funding. OYO’s main competitors are Treebo,
Fab Hotels and Vista Rooms. As of May 2020, OYO has 11 lakhs followers on Facebook and
60.7K followers on Twitter.

Statement of problem
The hospitality industry in India is going through an interesting phase. One of the major
reasons for the increase in demand for hotel rooms in the country is the boom in the overall
economy and high growth in sectors like information technology, telecom, retail and real
estate. Rising stock exchange and new business opportunities also are attracting hordes of
foreign investors and international corporate travellers to seem for business opportunities
within the country. The industry has a capacity of 110,000 rooms. According to the tourism
ministry, 4.4 million tourists visited India last year and at the present rate, the demand will
soar to 10 million by 2018 to accommodate 350 million domestic travellers. The hotels of
India have a shortage of 150,000 rooms fuelling bedroom rates across India. With
tremendous pull of opportunity, India has become a destination for hotel chains trying to find
growth.
In many times, customer does not get a room at most of the big hotels as there are many hotel
rooms are vacant at nearby places, hence the demand and supply does not match. In some
places the supply is excess and demand is less and vice versa. In this context the main
business of the OYO is to match the existing demand and supply of the market. With the
introduction of OYO Home stays, the company provide the home stays at a cheaper rate.
Hence the customer will get a comfort stay in different location instead of hotels and lodges.
One of the main advantages of OYO homes over other hotels and lodges are the customer
gets homely atmosphere and security. They are the first and most players in this particular
segment in India. Hence it is important to identify the factors which determine the customer
decision making process in choosing OYO Home stay services as well as the customer
preferences. Also with in the short time span the chance of new entrants might enter into the
particular segment. Hence it is very essential to know the customer decision making process
in choosing a home stay as well as their preferences towards OYO Home stays. So that
company can be able to formulate better marketing strategy to withstand in the market.

Relevance &Scope of the study

i. To recognize what sort of exercises are done in lodgings sector.

ii. To think about the client reaction and conduct towards the Oyo Homes.

iii. To extend system of contacts with different partners, proprietors and vendors.

iv. To apply business ideas and speculations to true basic leadership.

Objectives of study
i. To identify the factors influencing the customer preference towards Oyo homes.
ii. To study the customer satisfaction towards Oyo homes.
 CHAPTER 2
INDUSTRY PROFILE
 INDUSTRY PROFILE

Business Process of the Industry

Business processes is classified in several ways. The relevant processes are those who create
value, processes that provide options and processes that sustain the worth. The subsequent
activities within a business process are considered important:

a) High-value adding activities,

b) Value adding activities

c) Low-value adding activities.

The crucial business processes are the core processes, enabling processes, and managerial
processes. Despite numerous possible styles of business processes, and diverse diversities of
process structures, all business processes in an exceedingly hotel is divided into three types
like, operating processes, supporting processes and managerial processes

Four key operating processes within the hotel are:

1) The method of hotel housekeeping,

2) The method of supplying necessary inputs.

3) The process of guest’s arrivals and departures

4) The method of producing and serving food and beverage.

Understand markets and services comprised of three activities

1. Determine customer needs and desires.

2. Measure customer satisfaction

3. Monitor changes in market or customer expectations.

Main activities within a process of develop vision and techniques are monitoring the external
environment, define business concept and organizational strategy, design the organizational
structure and relationships between organizational units and develop and set organizational
goals. Designing products and services activities are developed new service concept and
plans, design, build and evaluate prototype products and services, refine existing services, test
effectiveness of recent or revised products or services, production and manage the
merchandise. And, the last support process is market and sell, which comprised of next
activities: market product or services to relevant customer segments and process customer
orders. Both styles of processes have a group of related and interdependent activities which
transform inputs into outputs. Operating and supporting processes have the start and also the
end, with boundaries which may be defined with reasonable precision and minimal overlap. .
Operating and supporting business processes have several important characteristics these
processes have users or customers which will be internal or external for a company. Besides
these two species, the group of business processes includes managerial processes. These
processes are a group of activities to direct, coordinate, integrate and control operating and
supporting business processes that make value for enterprise consumers and shareholders.
Management processes include mainly higher cognitive process activities. They are not tied
to simply segment of a company, but permeate the entire enterprise. Management processes
include: develop and manage human resources, manage IT, manage financial and physical
resources and manage reputation, quality and change. For managerial processes it can be said
that they constitute a separate and essential subset of the supporting processes. They are not
essential to consumers, but they’re essential for management of an enterprise to provide

Complete operating processes of a hotel comprise of processes of production activities and

service activities. The purpose of production activities is rendering of services which have
product characteristics, like: various food, drinks that are specifically prepared, bread,
desserts, and similar. Purpose of service activities is providing hotel guests with
accommodation, serving of meals and beverages, entertainment, sale of products , various
handicraft-and-services, laundry washing, ironing and similar. The most important operating
processes forced an entry its various activities.

The process of hotel housekeeping is an important and basic a part of the hotel guests
experience and satisfaction. Reservation and producing food also are important, but what
guests actually need is to feel reception, to feel comfortable. Although the staffs giving this
service don't necessarily interact with the general public, the standard of their work is basic in
hotel guests’ pleasant memories of their stay. Satisfactory realization of this process is the
foundation of good infection prevention. The general cleanliness, hygiene and technical
maintenance are vital to the health and safety of guests, staff, and visitors. Pleasant work
environment contributes to staff members’ satisfaction, making them to be more productive.
A more wonderful environment enhances hotel guest satisfaction and may increase guest’s
use of service and frequent visits. Within the process of hotel housekeeping is possible to
identify the following activities with employed persons the activity of hygiene and equipment
supplies accommodation units, bad making (supervisor room, maids), the activity of laundry
and dry cleaning: washing, ironing, drying (head wash, the controller receiving and issuing
machine, chemical cleaners, tailor, washer, presser), activity hygiene hotel public space
(hygienist, washer floors, washer glass surfaces), safety and security, activity decorating the
interior of the hotel and the maintenance of horticultural seedlings , as well as technical
maintenance activity. Activities of hygiene hotel rooms mean clean the rooms and wash
basins in the room. Bed making is the dexterity that desire to be developed by the
housekeeping staff, as it not only provides relaxation to the hotel guests, as well as adds to
the wonderful feeling of a visitor’s room. Laundry and dry cleaning have to ensure clean and
hygienic washing of all the linen items, and then distributing them to different areas of the
hotel.
 Figure 1: Process classification in hospitality

Business Models of OYO

1. Adopts hotels to get them in fold by booking a part of hotel’s inventory beforehand.

2. It gets them to follow certain standards of services, features, staff, pricing, security etc. and
invests in marketing and management of quality improvement for the hotels under its fold.

3. And these rooms are sold to customers under its own brand name: OYO Rooms through
their website and mobile application.

a) Partnership Model: Provides visitors/guests with quality hotel rooms staying at different
places around India and other countries too. OYO Rooms has partnered with hotels and made
them work under their name.

b)Franchise Model: The hotels that were the part of aggregation business model have now
become the part of franchise business model, they have converted to franchises operating
under OYO’ s brand name to reduce operational cost and improve serviceability.

Market Demand & Supply

The demand for hotel and tourism has dramatically transformed. Consumer behaviour in
hospitality has also changed. The change has a significant impact on the management and
marketing activities of the hotels across the globe. Over the past year, new expectations, and
new technologies are evident within the international hospitality market.

Hotels in India are categorized into two categories such as the star category hotels and
heritage category hotels. The star category hotel is further divided into 5 Star Deluxe, 5 Star
with Alcohol Service, 5 Star without Alcohol Service, 4 Star with Alcohol Service, 4 Star
without Alcohol Service, 3 Star, 2 Star, and 1 Star. The Heritage category hotels are divided
into the Heritage Grand, Heritage Classic with Alcohol Service, Heritage Classic without
Alcohol Service and Heritage Basic.

By 2023, the general hotel industry in India is predicted to succeed in over Rs 1,200 billion.
In the past few years, the occupancy rate of the major hotels has increased at least two folds.
The hotel industry is growing at about 7 per cent per annum and many experts believe that it
may fall short of meeting the long term demands of the thriving market.

In recent years, another category emerged within the hospitality industry in India – the
serviced apartment sector. These apartments usually include two to three fully-furnished
bedrooms with all the modern equipment such as washing machines, refrigerators,
microwave oven, housekeeping, etc. Even after providing several services, these serviced
apartments offer 30-35 per cent tariffs to the business class than the 5-star hotels for longer
stays.

The hotel industry comprises a serious a part of the tourism industry. The Hotel Industry by
nature and structure is international. It is multi-dimensional and worldwide in its operations
and versatile in its objectives. The scope of its earnings is infinite. It constitutes an important
sector of the tourism infrastructure of the economy. It can be an individual concern or an
international business. The hotel industry in India goes through a stimulating phase. One of
the major reasons for the increase in demand for hotel rooms in the country is the boom in the
overall economy and high growth in sector like information technology, telecommunication,
retail and real estate. Rising stock exchange and new business opportunities also are
attracting hordes of foreign investors and international corporate travellers to seem for
business opportunities within the country. While the potential of hotel industry is great, there
are several constraints for the industry to grow. High cost of land in the country often
discourages investors to put up in money in construction of new hotels. Construction of
hotels is very capital intensive and it's estimated that to construct one five-star room it costs
around Rs 1.25 crore. As a result there is no incentive to construct new hotel properties and
there is a mismatch between demand and supply leading to highly occupancy rates and
increasing prices. In fact, average rate of hotel rooms in five stars has gone up from Rs 4,000
five years ago to Rs 16,000 now. Though this rate can be affordable for business travellers, it
is very difficult to leisure travellers to pay such exorbitant rates. Across the country there is
no rationalization of taxes as states charge different rates. Secondly multiplicity of taxes like
value added tax and services tax further compound the problem. The holidays are available
only to hotels at heritage sites and so this measure is restrictive for the growth of the hotel
industry .India’s growing recognition as an exciting place to Success of “Incredible India”
campaign and other tourism promotion measures.. Reforms in aviation sector which led to
raised connectivity with many countries.
With the innovative business model, the hotel brands create quality accommodation for over
billions of middle-income people in the world. The companies brought about a positive
change in fragmented and unorganized markets where there is a huge gap between demand
and supply of good quality hotels. As highlighted the hotel brands invest in the asset
alongside asset owners to offer end-to-end solutions and support. Right from offering free
design consulting to upgrading and transforming the infrastructure of hotels, to providing
easy access to financing solutions, transparent payment protocols, multiple touch-points to
connect, marketing excellence, tech innovation and regulatory compliance assistance, our
focus continues to be on generating high yields for asset owners along with offering excellent
customer service.

With a 1,300 OYO partners and franchise, strong team of civil engineers and designers, they
have powered the transformation of over 23,000 buildings across territories while promoting
sustainable infrastructure in the hospitality sector. They utilize AI-led design approach while
evaluating guest feedback and identifying their most-preferred designs. Their efforts are
supported by in-house design labs OYOX Design and Townhouse Design Team. Full-scale,
capability-led model allows us to undertake a 360-degree transformation and renovation
while upgrading the existing structure of an asset from flooring, plumbing, air conditioning,
painting, electrical fixtures to utility upgrades. Technology is deeply embedded and it's the
primary company within the hospitality sector within the world to introduce technology-
based solutions on the suppliers’ side to assist them manage end-to-end operations right from
on boarding, transformation, customer service to monitoring progress of the asset and the
business.

Contribution to GDP

The tourism and hospitality sector is among the very best 10 sectors in India to draw in the
highest Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). During the amount April 2000-June 2018, the hotel
and tourism sector attracted around US$ 11.39 billion of FDI, consistent with the info
released by Department of commercial Policy and Promotion. The GST Council decided that
the 28 per cent tax would be imposed on hotel rooms with a tariff of Rs 7,500 above against
the previous proposal of Rs 5,000 and above. Rooms with tariffs between Rs 2,500 and Rs
7,500 will attract 18 per cent tax rate. The GST on restaurants in five-star and luxury hotels
has been brought down from 28 to 18 per cent, bringing it at par with standalone air-
conditioned restaurants. Food & beverages form 30-40 per cent revenue for five-star hotels.
Under GST regime, the overall tariffs for premium hotels (four star and above) may see an
increase, which may have some impact on the demand which had seen a pick-up in the last
financial year. Further, the practice of bundling of meals with room tariffs may even see a
decline, especially for four star category hotels, as higher tariffs above the stipulated levels of
Rs 7,500 per day may attract higher tax rates. Hotels having centralized registration will got
to get registered in each state whether providing hotel services on own account or through
agent (franchise)The biggest relaxation for the industry is the ease of compliance for the
industry as there would be no different taxes for the various services provided by the
industry. Also, GST would benefit the industry by the input system by reducing the general
tax flow for the industry, as earlier they didn't have the choice to set-off the taxes already
paid on inputs of the industry.

Revenue Generation

One of the India's biggest problems is to find ways to employ its ever-growing population.
Travel and tourism directly creates employment opportunities in hotels, restaurants, airlines,
travel agencies, passenger ships, and as a result of the spread effect creates jobs in industries
like construction, telecommunication, manufacturing and the retail trader. As per an analysis
done by retail consultancy Techno Park, at the end of 2017 the Indian hotel industry’s worth
was estimated around US$ 17 billion. Of the whole revenue, nearly 70 per cent is being
contributed by the unorganized sector and thus the remaining 30 per cent (US$ 5 billion
approx.) comes from the organized sector. The hotel industry is estimated to grow at a CAGR
(Compounded Annual Growth Rate) of around 15 per cent over the next five years. The share
of hotel and restaurant sector within the overall economy remains below 2 per cent. For the
last five years the entire contribution of the hospitality sector has remained stagnant.
Although the overall share increased from 1.46 per cent in 2015-16 to 1.69 per cent in 2017-
18, but then after the phase of economic meltdown in US the total share again decreased to
1.45 per cent in 2019-20. However, last two years haven't been quite pleasant for the world as
growth faltered badly. Till five years ago, the world was registering a growth of around 15
per cent but slowdown within the economy has affected the expansion prospects of the world
badly and the rate of growth has dropped into single digit level.

With the focus on generating high yields for asset owners on assets that were either lying
unused or operating at standards that are not at par with the industry, introduced dynamic
pricing to drive the best pricing mechanism in the industry supported by advanced Machine
Learning and AI tools to ultimately optimise for best outcomes for customers and hotel
owners alike. It enabled us to create a level-playing ground even for an independent or small
hotelier. With this, we are also able to deliver predictable and affordable tariffs to our
customers because we can reduce our cost of operations significantly when compared to
traditional hotel companies, through the utilization of technology, superior talent and by
leveraging our competencies that accompany scale. Our pricing, inventory allocation, and
revenue management are driven by a Machine Learning-based algorithm for prediction and
dynamic pricing. The algorithm makes 60 million micro-optimizations, every day, to arrive at
the optimal price point that ensures an affordable stay for our guests while driving higher
yields and occupancy across 23,000 buildings that are a part of OYO’s chain. It allows each
hotel to drive max RevPAR (revenue per available room) based on its micro-location. It
allows pricing to adjust dynamically to supply and demand and while in peak times pricing
adjusts to deliver high RevPAR, in low times, it also goes down to still allow for maximum
customers to experience the product while increasing profits for owners. It is a boon for
patrons and core to the success of our business model worldwide.

Type of Competition

Changes within the political and economic environment within the last century had strong
effects on the way companies operate. Turning from a production economy to a free
enterprise and globalization have confronted companies with new realities supported
competition during which they needed new tools to succeed. The key to attracting and
making clients loyal is offering an unforgettable experience and not just accommodation;
hotel chains innovate to make a singular environment, from hotel rooms to lobbies and the
restaurant. Thus, changes in the design of Marriott restaurants and in the menus so as to
reflect the particularities of different regions have lead to up to 50% increases in sales
recorded in rapport to the number of room’s occupied (Marriott Hotels, 2004). Along with
innovation, technology is a crucial strategic asset that permits hotel chains to enhance their
performance and competitiveness. On a worldwide scale, the role of technology in
strengthening the competitive advantage of a hotel is recognized, hence its contribution to the
hotel’s success (Nyheim, 2004). Since the hospitality industry, as the other branch of
services, is capital intensive, human resources can represent a source of competitive
advantage for a corporation. The achievement of improvements by observing this order will
ensure future benefits which will offer a sound foundation for future improvement initiatives
and a far better positioning of the chain to successfully affect future challenges (Henkoff,
1994).

Factors that influence competitiveness in the hospitality industry

The competition within the hospitality industry may be a result of two aspects:

 Technological adaptation
 Changing customer profile

1. Technological Adaptation

Like I said before, technology has levelled the playing field, and contributed to various facets
of the industry, including branding, communication, and outreach. In particular, three
particular trends are going to reshape the hospitality industry in the coming years. Let’s look
at each on them individually.

 Mobile-First Approach

In emerging markets round the world, 1 billion people are expected to return online globally.
Most of these will be customers who will experience their entire guest lifecycle on their smart
phones. Hospitality and travel companies haven't any choice but to take a position in mobile
friendly and mobile-first guest engagement and retention strategies. In any case, customers
are always trying to find that ‘personalized’ experience and leveraging innovative mobile
tech the way AirBnb and Uber have are going to be key when it involves brand
differentiation and experience. Hotels will have to offer booking functionalities, lightning fast
operations, and other touch points for the entire customer journey on mobile phones for the
convenience of their clients.

 Connectivity

With internet access becoming nearly limitless to digital natives and non-natives alike,
connectivity is only poised to increase. Besides, with the proliferation of connected devices
and wearable’s within the market, hotels will need to get innovative when it involves new
ways of interacting and interesting with the buyer. Virtual reality tours, augmented reality
interactions, robotics, and AI will drive the market and poise it for yet other travel
experiences that can be vicariously delivered.

 Machine Learning, Big Data and Analytics

Tapping into big data allows for the creation and curation of an extensively personalized
experience for every type of consumer. A lot of marketing campaigns can be leveraged
seamlessly, and monitored keeping tangible numbers in mind for growth and further
optimization. It also accelerates existing processes like customer service, feedback collection,
email automation, and customer engagement. Furthermore, it can also facilitate up scaling
and downsizing the business according to company goals.

2. Changing customer profiles and brand experience

The tourism industry is witnessing a change in the psychographic and demographic profiles
of travellers. Along with Gen X travellers, there’s a fresh influx of millennial, whose
expectations and lifestyle are setting completely different standards for industry performance.
Customer experience is currently the most dominant brand differentiator. It will also drive
customer loyalty and referrals and hotels will be needed to synthesize more targeted,
personalized, and intricate loyalty schemes than ever before. This personalization and
differentiation also extends to the kinds of experiences that you create. The ‘home far away
from home’ concept does away with the homogenization of luxury, which was the tried and
tested paradigm earlier.

Now, to supply unmatched service, rooting the hotel in its local climate while also giving
experiences beyond the traditional hotel space, has become a crucial factor. The millennial
demand for organic food and sustainable options also creates more vulnerability when it
comes to risks and food safety, which needs to be monitored by hotel owners. Travel brands
have also been left behind by non-travel brands which have pampered the purchasers by
providing heightened levels of service. Amazon, Starbucks, and Uber are a few names that
millennial hold in high regard, and competition will only intensify as customers begin to
expect the same out of every service provider, especially the hospitality industry player.

Competitors of OYO in Hospitality Industry

• Trivago: is a German multinational technology company specializing in internet-related

Services and products in the hotel, lodging and Meta search fields. Trivago was the primary
hotel program in Germany, and is one among the fastest growing companies in Germany with
profitability doubling since 2008. The American travel company Expedia, Inc. owns a
majority of the company's stock.

• Goibibo: Ibibo Group is an online travel organization founded in January 2007 by

AshishKashyap. The company may be a subsidiary of Naspers, which owns an 80% stake in
Ibibo Group. In February, Naspers announced plans to increase its stake in Ibibo Group to
90% by investing additional $250 million in the company.

• MakeMyTrip: MakeMyTrip is an Indian online travel company founded in 2000

Headquartered in Gurgaon, Haryana, the company provides online travel services including
flight tickets, domestic and international holiday packages, hotel reservations, rail and bus
tickets, etc. The company has been recognized as one of India's good travel portals. The
company also operates through 65 retail stores across 50 cities in India, alongside offices in
any City and Sydney. Makemytrip holds on the brink of 25% market share of the OTA hotel
booking segment.

• Kayak: Kayak.com, sometimes styled as KAYAK, is a fare aggregator and travel Meta
search engine operated by The Priceline Group. Its products are available in 18 languages.
The company also runs travel search engines checkfelix and swoodoo. Formerly a separate
company, the KAYAK Software Corporation was acquired by The Priceline Group on May
21, 2013.

• EaseMyTrip: EaseMyTrip.com is an online travel company based in India. The parent of

the company is known as Easy Trip Planners Pvt. Ltd that is located in Patparganj Industrial
Area, New Delhi.

Pricing Strategy

A hotel’s price reflects an assessment of the value that tourists see and their willingness-to-
pay for the hotel’s rooms and services. It is the worth which reflect the very fact that whether
the hotel is worth for it or not. Hotel industry charges tourists a price premium based on
location or based on timing of tour visits. Hotel pricing strategy is to attract customers with a
lower room price in comparison to the base price of the hotel. The main goal is to offer at an
unmatched price and which matches with the budget of user.. Due to this discount strategy
many a time’s hospitality industry turns out to be at a serious loss which is then backed by
different investors like Softbank group. Value pricing strategy provides quality rooms with
standardised and wide range of facilities at reasonable price to meet customer satisfaction.
This increases the volume of the sale. The hotel brands have to some extend follows the
Going Rate Pricing; according to the competitor price it changes its own prices they basically
earn exclusively from the volume of room night sold. Just that the revenues are split between
hotel brand and the property owner at their agreement. Most Hotels aiming for product
quality leader in the market for that they are even ready to take some risks. They are just
heading for the maximum market share by setting the lowest price.

Oyo rooms are the innovation of need and have totally changed the way hotel rooms were
booked. It is not only working in India but has also extended its empire beyond India i.e. in
Nepal and Malaysia. In India it covers over 200 towns with quite 7000 hotels all across India.
Oyo helps the hotels which doesn't have fame or recognizable in hospitability industry. They
make an agreement with the hotels and offer to showcase or do branding of their hotel under
the name of Oyo. The main focus of this plan is to provide quality services to the guests. So
they showcase all the elemental services alongside premium services of the hotel on their
website or app to the consumers. It fulfils the objective of providing a neat and clean place to
all the guests along with fundamental facilities. Overall Oyo rooms are following a really
sensible strategy which aims to supply rooms at a moderate rate with awesome services and
generate loyalty from customers.

Prospects and Challenges in the Hospitality Industry

Prospects

The future trends within the hospitality industry are often summarized as follows:

• More green and eco-lodgings

• Development of mega hotels (multi-purpose facilities with casino, shops, theatre, theme
park, etc.).

• More boutique hotels.

• Increasing employee salaries in order to retain the existing staff.

• Intelligent hotels with advanced technology to perform all the operations (check-in, charges,
check-out, etc.).

• More emphasis on the internet and technology.

• Guest virtual and physical social networks will be the best distribution channels.

Challenges

1. Fluctuations in Economy

When a nation‘s economy is high, business travel generally increases. Hotel‘s occupancy
percentage and rack rate increases, which results in higher profit levels. Vice-Versa, the
business travel slows when the economy is low which results in decreased occupancy
percentage and rack rate. Discounts to extend occupancy are offered, which yield lower
revenues and profit decreases. For hotels and restaurants, the economy always plays a role in
determining the level of both personal and business spending. For tourism-heavy locations,
this is even truer. In the travel and hotel sectors, the ups and downs of global events have an
obvious impact on international spending making it one of the greatest challenges facing the
hospitality industry and restaurants. As demand for lodging and plane travel goes down, both
total revenue and profit decrease. Prices are slashed to try to fill empty rooms and flights, and
raising rates to recover lost profits later is a tricky business. But the impact of globalization is
also being felt in the food service sector. Restaurants now have a greater sort of vendor
options to form their menus more appealing while obtaining ingredients and supplies at a
lower cost. At the same time, importing from other countries has its own set of risks
especially if there is a well-publicized incident regarding contamination, unfair labour
practices, toxic materials used in manufacturing, and other issues that media-savvy
consumers may find troubling. While cheaper sourcing may be easier in a global economy,
customers are more and more selective about spending in alignment with their shifting
values.

2. Rising Technological Demand

Technology is an integral part of everyday life. Whilst we use our holiday to require an
opportunity from certain aspects of our lives, it seems we never need a break from
technology. Hotel guests demand a basic right to be connected in any hotel, in any location,
round the world. Technology is a constant travel companion, wherever we go. Innovative use
of technology that benefits customers and not just hotel operations helps hotel to face out
from the competition and attract new customers. It started with the demand for free Wi-Fi
connection but this is very much a basic need now. Hotels have started to install robotics and
voice control technology, smart mini bars and golf simulators. The Wynn hotel in Vegas
already uses Amazon Echo and Marriott is exploring Amazon Alexa and Google Home to use
in their bedrooms. Whilst technology provides endless opportunities to enhance hotel
efficiencies, hoteliers must strike the proper balance between automation and therefore the
human touch. Investment in technology is critical to long-term business success but it must
not come at the value of private service. The demanding nature of the average consumer is
skyrocketing in an era of instant gratification. People want what they want and they want it
now. That‘s always been true to a certain extent in the hospitality industry. After all,
customers are paying for service and they expect to get it. But they're now doing quite just
comparing your organization to direct competitors. A customer comparing you to his/her
experience in general particularly when it comes to digital interaction and speedy service is
one of the major challenge faced by the hospitality industry today. Customers now, even
complain about the number of keyboard strokes or mouse clicks required to complete an
online booking. The restaurant industry is also feeling increased pressure to go digital and
change their business model by starting food delivery services for locations that were
previously dine-in only. Hotels and restaurants should search for ways to use technology to
enhance the general digital customer experience from on-site kiosks to their website and
social presence. To start with, it‘s essential to have someone monitoring all digital channels
from review websites to twitter, face book, email, and beyond. Reputation management is a
best practice for keeping customer satisfaction high and a valuable source of data and insights
for future improvement. Internal customers (job candidates and employees) also have higher
expectations towards their employer organization. A mobile-friendly online application
process, web-based on-boarding, virtual training, and self-service tech in general will
undoubtedly help attract savvy employees & will help make them ready to work faster, and
help keep them engaged and satisfied over the end of the day .

3. Providing & Maintaining Absolute Cleanliness & Hygiene

First impression counts for an excellent deal and lots of hotel guests get a moment sense for
the standards during a hotel from their first visit to the hotel washroom. The demand for
cleanliness shouldn't be a surprise, especially within the hotel industry. In fact, cleanliness
and hygiene is ranked as number one priority for choosing and recommending hotels post
stay. The majority of hotel guests would happily give up on complimentary luxuries and
technology, such as Wi-Fi access etc., than to stay in a dirty hotel. Efficient housekeeping
teams are very critical for brand reputation management and to drive loyalty amongst hotel
guests. Make sure the lodging rooms have clean, odour-free, eco-friendly and spacious
conditions. This would help to drive more visitors to the hotels. As hospitality businesses
operate round the clock and slow periods in which staff can conduct some minor cleaning is
never guaranteed; many companies choose to hire a professional cleaning service. This is the
best way to ensure that all the requirements are met and it doesn‘t mean you have to take
valuable time out of your day to enforce the fact that everything is completed.

4. Providing & Maintaining Excellent & Exceptional Guest Service Standards

Every hotel guest expects good customer service but today‘s hoteliers must exceed. A hotel is
judged by the quality of the service delivered. Highly skilled and attentive staff, a personal
touch, respect, and the ability to make a guest‘s stay as comfortable and as relaxing as
possible are all equally important to succeed. If hotels can provide that extra level of service,
they will generate brand loyalty and repeat custom. The phrase "The customer is always
right" may have been coined in the retail sector, but it is highly relevant to the hotel sector.
To win repeat business and ensure long-term growth, hotels must develop a deep
understanding of the kinds of consumers they need to draw in and supply services and
facilities that cater to the requirements of their target customer base. There is now a growing
demand to employ data scientists in the hospitality sector, to provide insights into hotel
guests their likes, dislikes and interests to ensure unexpected and highly appreciated personal
touches during a guest‘s stay.

5. Providing Meaningful & Memorable Personal Experiences

Guest‘s stay memories are based on powerful experiences. There is a growing expectation
now to always experience ‘something. In the hotel industry, design trends, technology and
personalization can all help to supply a meaningful experience and drive guest loyalty. It is
no longer enough just to go out for a nice meal in a nice restaurant with great service.
Restaurants are conscious of the necessity for offering a true dining experience’. Experiences
should be treated as an extension of the great quality customer service already offered by
hoteliers, though admittedly it might be more relevant to the luxury/ five-star plus rated
hotels in the world. . Whilst quality of service is hugely important to guests it can be made
even better by a meaningful personal experience. In some cases, hotel design and interior
trends might be enough to attract new customers and in other cases, technology might be
more attractive as in the case of the world‘s first robot hotel in Japan, The Henn Na (Weird
Hotel). In the UK, a BBC television programme, Amazing Hotels, brings the rising demand
for experiences, over and above pampering, into sharp focus. If hoteliers can provide these
sought-after experiences, then they will exceed customer expectations.

6. Increasing Competition

Hotel industry is an ever blooming business. Travel and tourism is enormously growing every
year. Travellers always look for the perfect accommodation. Due to very high demand in
accommodation, the competition is additionally high during this business. In the crowded
travel spots, you'll see hotels at each and each locality. High competition may be a major
challenge during this sector. To reap the high profits, new or existing competitors could
significantly reduce rates or provide greater conveniences, services or amenities, or
significantly expand, improve or introduce new facilities in the markets. Hotels everywhere
indicate that their community is overbuilt; there are too many available hospitality rooms
relative to the guests desiring to rent them. The resulting competition, which often involves
price cutting in efforts to provide greater value to guests, reduces the profits generated. A
steep fall in occupancy ratio within the wake of the worldwide slowdown and tight
competition among hospitality operators during a shrinking market have brought down
hospitality room rents drastically across the globe. The competition in Europe has resulted in
low occupancies and as a result, the typical rate has taken a beating of just about 30 percent
altogether major leisure markets. Rooms are now sold not just for less but also bundled with
packages, like breakfast, airport transfers or a day‘s sightseeing.

7. Difficulties in Managing Energy & Resources

Investing in renewable & eco-Friendly resources can help in improving hotel's overall profit
margin. Tourists prefer to accommodate themselves at an environmental-friendly hotel room
rather than ordinary hotel room. With rising electricity prices and increasing pressure to cut
carbon emissions, saving energy is the number one priority on hotelier’s priority list. There
are two solutions for effective energy management. One is voltage Optimization, which
works to scale back the incoming power to premises for reducing the energy consumption
and protect electrical equipment. The other is energy management systems, which switch on
and off appliances depending on the occupancy of a room. Despite the upfront costs
associated with going green, the lodging industry shows no signs of turning its back on its
commitment to Sustainability. Rather, many hotels are looking longer-term, recognizing the
cost- and Resource-saving benefits of going green, alongside the good-will that it builds
among guests. Though hotels have long offered guests the option to hold off on laundering
linens during their stay, many are now offering entirely environmentally-friendly rooms that
have water-saving bathroom fixtures and in-room energy management systems.

Key Drivers of Hospitality Industry

The robust growth within the hospitality sector has sparked interest from investors, both
domestic and international. The hospitality industry may be a broad category of fields within
the sector of service, which incorporates bars and restaurants, conference and events,
amusement parks, hotels, transportation, travel, and lots of more. The key drivers of
Hospitality industry are;

1. New Money

New money brings with it the capital to achieve long-held dreams, so it should be no surprise
that many newly wealthy individuals are choosing international travel. When incomes rise
and home economies are stable, people across the world feel free to use their capital on
pleasurable experiences rather than save for an uncertain future. Across the Asia/Pacific
region, Africa, and the Middle East, newly wealthy individuals emphasize values such as
living richly and enjoying new experiences. Travel fulfils these values.

2. Affordable Ticket fare

Ticket prices are dropping thanks to a blend of factors, from lower fuel prices, carrier
competition, and a rise of low-cost airlines. While this news is unwelcome in the airline
industry, which is using ancillary fees to increase profit margins, it benefits travellers who
can get more from their purchasing power.

3. Corporate Travel

This year, business travel is projected to grow by over 6 percent. In China and India, the
expansion of business travel is especially steep thanks to the relentless pace of economic
process in those countries. Industry consolidation, pressure to book directly instead of
through online travel sites, and stricter cancellation policies help hotels captures a greater
share of every business dollar.
4. Experiential Travel

The buzzword of recent years, experiential travel remains a serious driver of tourism.
Consumers in general are spending more money on dining out, travel, and recreation, and less
money on material possessions. Experiential travel focuses on experiences rather than
consumer goods, for instance offering travellers the chance to create once-in-a-lifetime
memories through a cultural exchange or wildlife encounter.
 CHAPTER 3
REVIEW OF LITERATURE
 REVIEW OF LITERATURE

Brief theoretical construct related to the problem

Due to strong growth of hospitality industry and hotel sector specifically in recent years
there's an increased need from management and industry professionals so as to know how
select hotels to stay in guest and what are decision making factors that prevail. The
hospitality industry is extremely dynamic with lot of various categories and sectors under its
umbrella like hotel sector, aviation, food and beverage, travel and tourism to call a couple of .
It is important to understand that customer service arise as extremely important and
customary to all or any of the hospitality categories. Success of the business in hospitality
industry mainly depends on how good and efficient is employees in providing service and
ensuring that guest satisfaction is at its highest in the least times. Additionally, for that very
same reason hospitality industry is usually mentioned as industry. For every purchase, there
is a cyclical process. A customer gets an idea about buying a product actually buys it after
relevant considerations and uses of it and based on the experience derived out of the
consumption process, the customer begins the cycle again. The marketer must understand the
process since knowledge of the process will enable them to plan their marketing effort. This
chapter is all about an attempt to study the theoretical concept of the customer decision
making processes and customer Preference towards Oyo homes.

OYO in Hospitality

OYO has become an O'Neill, M.A et al, (2012), assessed the service quality using Gap
analysis, in this study the perceived quality of a given service is the outcome of an evaluation
process during which customers compare their prior expectations of the service thereupon
they need actually received. OYO rooms have become an online aggregator of budget hotels.
Online customers express their loyalty to a service provider in various ways (Virtanen et al.,
2003). It is indicated in return and repurchases behaviour and favourable word of mouth. In
online purchase behaviour, word-of-mouth can spread quickly. On-line customers can use e-
mail, often offered within the sort of a link, to recommend their favourite internet site to
friends and family. (Bitner, 2007) According to Michael McCormick, executive vice
president, Hospitality and Leisure Services, Cendant Travel Distribution, 2003 - travel
agents‟ difficulty is a result of the changes in airline commissions, the agencies‟ former
revenue mainstay. In 1999domesticairline revenue was 53 percent of travel agency revenue.
In 2001 that figure had dropped to 45 percent-a 15-percent drop in just two years-and airlines
have continued to diminish their commission payments. (H.C.Hsu).

Theoretical Framework

The different cause variables which influences the customer preference and decision making
process towards OYO Homes are taken in to the research studies, they are;

a) Reliability &Consistency

Reliability is the core of the services. If guests do not consider the hotel reliable, other
dimensions will have very little impact on overall quality. Reliability is actually the
precondition for the success of other dimensions. Reliability is assessed on the basis of the
outcome of the received service. Therefore, reliability in the hotel tourism means that the
time of providing services is in accordance with the one promised. If this dimension were
applied to a hotel, reliability would actually mean that the time of off erring breakfast, lunch
and dinner is in accordance with the promised time. s. Reliability is not a dimension which
would significantly influence the satisfaction of hotel guests, it is implicit, it has been already
promised - its impact is much greater on the dissatisfaction than on satisfaction. Apart from
reliability as a dimension, which is under the influence of the result, other dimensions that are
influenced by the process of providing services can more easily surprise guests in a positive
way. Identify action with the problems or requirements of each individual guest includes
providing an appropriate level of care and individual attention, while expertise and
confidence are actually a sense of professionalism and courtesy that employees use to create
the image of confidentiality. The phase after the guests’ stay includes all activities of
maintaining contact with the guests, which includes managing complaints, magazines for
guests, the guest club, while maintaining contacts and relationships with regular guests is of
particular importance (for example giving certain benefits, like discounts, etc.).

 Consistency is incredibly important in the hospitality industry. Customer experience can

determine whether someone returns to your establishment or not and if that is different every
time then people simply may not want to risk a negative experience. Whether your business is
struggling to attract customers, or you’re looking to grow your existing audience into a new
segment, achieving consistency is crucial. Consumers today have pretty high expectations.
The hospitality market is fairly saturated and it’s difficult for businesses to distinguish
themselves when it comes to standing out from the competition. Being able to live up to
customer expectations is one way to make your offering stand out in the minds of consumers
and that mean.

b) Comfortability& Convenience

When guests book a room at a hotel, their comfort level is of the upmost importance. Hotel
staff provides turn down services, complimentary breakfasts and make every effort to make
guests feel more relaxed while away from home.

 Convenience is a critical benchmark for a great customer experience. The reason for the
customer convenience is;

 Saves time: Time is money, something we’ve been taught since we were in school.
Well, today, a customer’s time is your money. The faster he’ll be able to complete a
transaction, the higher your sales.
 Encourages buying: A convenient option of sourcing their desired product or
service – such as grocery shopping on a tablet – encourages the customer to shop
more without having to physically exert themselves.
 Changes perception: The more convenient options your customers have, the more
they will perceive you to be a trustworthy retailer, thus increasing their loyalty
towards your brand.

It is imperative that as a business, you are willing to go that extra mile to satisfy the
customers. The obvious benefit of this is winning the trust of your consumer besides building
higher brand recall ultimately helping you set the foundation for a long-term relationship.

c) Coverage

The hotel industry is a customer bound service and for hotel industries to market themselves
as brands it is very important to be customer centric and make sure that their customers
get the best of the values. The hotel industry is a customer bound service and for hotel
industries to market themselves as brands it is very important to be customer centric and
make sure that their customers get the best of the values. Accommodations within the
hospitality industry primarily involve where guests will be staying as well an amenities that
they are provided with. From luxury properties to budget hotels and hostels, each location is
intended to suit your discrete needs. It can be argued that accommodations represent the
veritable backbone of the hospitality sector and as a result, management will place a great
deal of emphasis upon what they have to offer.

d) Affordable Price

Affordable Price is something that is being given away by the consumer in order to obtain
desired product or service. In the hospitality industry, perceived price is difficult to analyze
due to service factor that often cannot be measured as well to large number of products and
service that tourist can come across during their travel to a certain destination (Zeinthaml,
1988). Some destination, such as island resorts would be more simplified due to its lack to
provide a lot of different products. The most common product in hotel sector is that the price
of the space as in most cases and it's the most important number on the guest bill (Kashyap
and Bojanic, 2000). Furthermore, customers intend to forget on prices that they spend for
product and this is the time when hotels have to make sure that they find out perfect balance
in between realistic price offered which will benefit customers and hotel revenues. For
example, there is significant relationship in the price that business traveller look for when
selecting hotel to stay in as mentioned earlier there are many studies that indicates that
business travellers are selecting hotel based on their need to complete work needed.
Additionally, during hotel selection process if the perceived total price is higher than the will
to pay then business travellers will not make a booking but rather look for more affordable
price and discounts. Moreover, business travellers will only consider the price they had paid
for a hotel if the actual price is lesser then their anticipated price (Lie and Zhang, 2014).
Revenue management professionals in hotel sectors are under constant pressure in order to
develop hotel rate that are acceptable to consumers, while at same time is benefiting business.
In revenue management practices demand based pricing is standard and it's up to hotel to
segment their guest and establish different rate supported those segments. Once two or more
rates are given to customer at same time, hotel makes rate fences in order to protect certain
rate from certain customers using it. Normally, discounted rates are less prone to rate fences,
where medium and high rates are more related with preventive rate fences. Generally, in hotel
sector there are not any specific rules on establishing these rates, therefore balancing
consumer and hotel desires are often challenging. Guests should perceive the rate restrictions
given to them as acceptable in order to make their bookings, while hotels need to protect their
own interests by controlling the consumers and segmenting them accordingly to maximise on
room revenues (Guillet, Liu and Law, 2014).

e) Quality Homes

Having judgment a few product or service are often defined as quality. In hospitality industry
that refers to the human element, which is inclusive of employees possessing core attributes
of industry itself like courteous, politeness and friendliness. Furthermore, as discussed earlier
providing efficient and personalized service by employees of the hotel contributes to guest
returning back also as affecting guest perception during hotel selection process. There’s very
close relationship in between quality of service and tourist reason to settle on that hotel again
(Lockyer, 2002). Today’s guests would like to travel and stay in a place to gain complete
mental physical and spiritual revival. The meaning of wellness experience is not just
restricted to well-equipped fitness centres, pool, SPA or healthy food options instead our
customers are looking for innovative wellness options and are willing to pay for it. Some of
the trends in the context of healthy room design include biophilic design (design concept that
incorporates nature and natural elements like natural lighting, room with a view) lighting that
energizes, air purification, yoga spaces, in-room exercise equipment, health videos and apps,
vitamin-infused shower water, wellness amenities, window shades that block out light and
sound, sustainability elements into the entire design concepts

F) Online Services

The ease of communication and transparency in information is the premise on which the
internet has flourished. It has become an inevitable “go to” place for any and every kind of
information that is accessible to the public. The internet has woven itself in the guest life
cycle from pre check-in to post check-out at hotels or the destinations that they visit.
Searching for destinations, travel and stay options online is almost a default practice today
and which is one of the most important reasons contributing to the surge in travelling. The
internet has caught the imagination of the masses. Because of its interactive platform and
capability to offer personalised itineraries, the traveller feels engaged and compelled to
execute their dream travel plans. Today much of any travel and accommodation
arrangements, unlike a decade ago when they were made through an agency, can be entirely
made online. Hotel bookings are now routinely made online by a majority of tourists and with
the option to pay at the time of check-in, it has offered a favourable proposition for the
customer. Internet has made communication and offers more personal to the consumer
depending on the consumer’s demographics

The Various effect variables are;

a) Customer satisfaction

According to Oliver (1981) customer satisfaction is an emotional response to the use of a

product or service. The Confirmation-disconfirmation theory defines customer satisfaction as
a post-purchase evaluative judgement concerning a specific buying decision (Homburg and
Giering, 2001). According to the theory, customers assess their levels of satisfaction by
comparing their actual experiences (perception) with their previous experience (expectation).
The three possible outcomes following the evaluation process are:

(1)Confirmation – a situation where expectation meets perception, neutral situation exists.

(2)Positive disconfirmation – it occurs when perception exceeds expectation, leading to

satisfaction.

(3)Negative disconfirmation – is described as when expectation exceeds perception,

dissatisfaction occurs. Although there are many ways of defining satisfaction, the underlying
conceptualisation is that satisfaction is an attitude-like judgement following a purchase act or
a series of consumer production interactions (Lovelock and Wirtz, 2004).

b) Customer Loyalty and its Dimensions

Loyalty of a firm’s customer has been recognized as the dominant factor in the business
organization’s success. This study helps us in extending our understanding of the connection
between customer loyalty, customer satisfaction, and image. This is of considerable interest
to both practitioners and academics within the field of hospitality management. One of the
best challenges facing hotel organization today is ever-growing volume and pace of
competition. Competition has major implications for the 8 customer, providing: Increased
choice; Greater value for money; and Augmented levels of service. There are two strategies
most commonly used by hotel managers in order to gain a competitive advantage; developing
customer loyalty by providing unique benefits to customer’s loyal customer is a customer
who repurchases from same service provider whenever possible and who continues to
recommend or maintain a positive attitude towards the service-provider. (Hoster, 2014).

Loyalty Dimensions

There are two dimensions to customer loyalty: Behavioural & Attitudinal. The behavioural
dimensions refer to the customers’ behaviour on repeat purchases, indicating a preference for
a brand or service overtime. Attitudinal dimensions, on the opposite hand, ask customer
intention to repurchase and recommend, which are good indicators of loyal customers.

Relationship between Customer Satisfaction and Loyalty

Customer satisfaction considers being one of the most important outcomes of all marketing
activities in a market-oriented firm. The obvious for satisfying the firm’s customer is to
expand the business, to realize a better market-share, and to accumulate a repeat and referral
business, all of which lead to improved profitability. (John T Bowen, 2001)

Revenue Model

Oyo rooms books a neighbourhood of the hotels inventory by paying monthly rent
beforehand at discounts (Expenses) These hotels are put to match the standardized quality
like free Wi-Fi, clean toilets etc.(expenses)These rooms are offers to the purchasers at OYO
room’s website, application and various OTA platforms Users buy these from at a
predetermined price (revenue)The expenses also includes the heavy expenses on promotional
activities to extend the brand quality among the users also because the remuneration of the
workers . It provides heavy discounts to the purchasers. These discounts often lead to prices
which are lesser than the value price of those hotels and leads to losses. (Firas J. Al-
Shakhshee, 2017). Earlier the brand won’t to lease hotels at a predetermined price and offered
them to the users at a take-up rate. This has been changed to a commission-based revenue
model. Oyo rooms charges a commission of twenty-two from its hotel partners. However,
this commission does very consistent with the services provided by the brand.

Precisely Oyo Rooms is running in loss

Despite heavy losses Oyo rooms is in a position to expand within the market because it is
backed by several investors like speed of light India, Sequoia Capital, Green oaks Capital and
Softbank Group. The worth sensitivity during this case is high thanks to high competition and
customers also are awarded about different services and may easily compare the standard and
price with its substitutes. Oyo Rooms refer clients to hotels and obtain a percentage as cut for
this transaction. They even have deals for minimum guaranteed customers and may offer its
clients beneficial deals and discounted rates. All its transactions are swift-cash variety and it
works in favour of the corporate as they're ready to realize their revenues at a faster pace.
They supply different services at different but definite prices. Budget bedroom prices varies
from rupees 999 to rupees 4,000 but a floor price is kept and therefore the competitor’s price
consistent with their quality is additionally kept in mind. Leisure rooms are priced 15-20%
above business rooms and 20-30% less than the closest three-star hotels. It tries to satisfy the
budget of a private and found out his accommodation accordingly. Price of the rooms is
additionally set consistent with their geographic allocations, categories and inclusions.
Rooms at tourism spots are generally high priced compared to an area during a general city.
The hotel industry involves high degree of interaction between employees & guest’s then
provides many opportunities for service failures to occur. Service quality issues are of
concern to researchers for on the brink of twenty years & no. of projects focused on
hospitality industry. Forinstance, McColl-Kennedy & White (1997), Pizam& Ellis (1999)
considered consumer satisfaction in hotels & mismatch between expectations & perceptions
of Service Quality. In terms of measurement O’ Neill (1996), used SERVQUAL
(Parasuraman et al., 1988) in hotels inno0rthern Ireland used it in hotels in Korea. Alternative
measurement tools for the hospitality industry were developed by for hotels in Australia
(HOLSERV) & by Knutsonet al. (1991) (LODGSERV).

Consumer Decision Making Process

Numerous different aspects influence the way consumers choose hotel to stay in.
Furthermore, the consumer decision-making process in the hotel choice selection is in
influenced by hotel product, established information, and personal preferences. Regrettably,
marketing research in hotels is still working with inadequate information and analysis of
guest related data, based on demographic and geographic data gathered while the guest is
making the reservation or upon registration. Further, this cannot be sufficient in an attempt to
better know the travellers decision-making behaviour. In order to understand customers in
their decision-making processes there is need for predicting their potential intentions. This is
vital to a business success within the hotel sector (Baruca and Civre, 2012). Decision making
process shouldn’t be a worry only to hoteliers but 27 also to a travel agencies also as OTA’s
as they'll want to know tourists decision-making process and accommodation selection too so
as to seek out what are the most factors that have impact on the choice of varied hotels types
in as which will play huge role in order to target their customers and market themselves
accordingly (Chen, Tsai and Chiu, 2015). One of the main researchers in aspect of decision
process and selection criteria Lockyer (2002) that was mentioned and discussed earlier in
selection process was one of the main drivers to establish decision making process that is
used widely in other research that include hotel decision making process. Dolnicar and Otter
(2003) were ready to present and conclude 173 attributes were 13 of them were associated
with image of the hotel, 16 associated with value and price of rooms and 20 attributes were
connected to service provided by hotel employees. On the other hand Callan (1998) identified
166 attributes related to hotel selection process including location, price, image, security and
staff competence. Furthermore, such methodological approach is rather focused on evaluation
of alternatives that researcher saw but not necessary applicable to guest as it did not
summarize past experiences of the guest as well as presence of other attributes that impact
decision making process. Therefore, researcher became interested in expanding his research
with goal to establish better understanding of what guest really think and what really is
important in their selection of hotel to stay in. Moreover, as indicated in figure 2, decision-
making process was developed based on different triggers that motivate guest to travel and
from there was able to establish basic decision-making model where cleanliness in all
research was stated as mandatory factor (Lockyer, 2005).

As seen from illustrated model basic model outlines four major factors that cause purchase
decision of the hotel accommodation. After guests are triggered by attributes that lead to a
desire to travel major attributes identifies in process were price, location, facilities and
cleanliness as mandatory factor. Further from this model Lockyer (2005) established four
different maps trough focus group study conducted that corresponded to attributes in
decision-making process.
 Figure 2 – Decision Making Process Model

Location

Factors such as “location”, “price”, “distance”, “attraction”, “depends”, and “car” were found
to be very important for a guest in order to establish how much they were willing to pay for
the certain hotel. Focus group that developed map was busy discussing the issues of hotel
being close to attraction and that hotels located further away may be less expensive but would
involve transportation and car cost that would displace saving on room if guest were to
decide to select hotel further away from all attractions. Words depend and transport as well as
car and cost were found to be more related to each other even they were not in the same
category. Words “business” and “stay” are closely related to category “price” which indicates
that business travellers were less sensitive to a price if the location of hotel was in
approximate distance to all attractions. Furthermore, as seen on map category “need” has key
interest drawn from focus group as it has relationship with many categories such as “price”,
”town”, ”city” and in some aspect to “business” too. On the other hand, category “city”
emphases importance of location in the guest expectation and what they would prefer to do.
Categories, “family and “area” clearly highlight possible interest for the families and if they
might have enough to entertain them self if they select hotel for that matter. Lastly, category
“transport” has very strong relationship with the “price” but also indicates availability of
public transportation (Lockyer, 2005).
 Figure 3 - Special Map – Location (Lockyer, 2005).

Price

During the focus group there was strong relationship established that categories “availability”
30 and “first” are primary in order to continue looking for hotel as if there was no availability
there was no point in looking into price nor any other attribute. Furthermore, emphasis was
placed on strong relationship in between categories “reason”, “price” and “pay”. As example
it served that if guest family member was hospitalized there was strong need to stay at the
hotel so price did not seem important in case of such need. Words “afford” and “budget” very
closely selected, as there was expectation for the amount to pay even initial budget has been
decided for hotel stay when enquiring about hotel to stay at budget played big role.
“Location” was placed in between “price” and “first” which proved strong relationship in
between price and importance of accommodation location. As discussed previously in this
paper service level offered in hospitality industry play crucial role. Moreover, this study
revealed strong relationship between categories “amount” and “service” and that referred that
guest is willing to pay more if high level of service is offered at accommodation that would
be decided in selection process trough out various reviews as discussed previously. It is
important to mention that “expect” and “spend” are two factors that are split but they
indicated certain degree of expectation in purchase decision. Even though guest want to
spend sometimes what was budgeted certain situation will command otherwise and will not
necessary follow expected spend.
 Figure 4 - Special Map – Price (Lockyer, 2005)

Facilities

As a one of most important factors that led to purchase decision beside price and location,
facilities offered at hotel have very strong influence on hotel decision-making process and
selection of accommodation to stay in. As seen in facilities special map facilities were
identify as very important but they are also influenced by different type of hotel. For example
some of categories as “fridge”, “email”, “parking”, “cooking”, “playground” and “hairdryer”
were not consider to be any sort of luxury but an essential need instead. “Quite” is seen
together of the foremost important factors, especially disturbance by people deemed to be
important. As seen on the map “family”, “pool” and “games” have indication of being very
important for the family guest as a need for the activates. On the same note, “sports”,
“garden” and “outside” also indicated need for family entertainment but also could depend on
purpose of stay (Lockyer, 2005).

Cleanliness

cleanliness as factor had mandatory influence on hotel decision making process as majority
of guest would not proceed further with their decision for purchase of cleanliness were about
to be an issues. Furthermore, cleanliness factors as “bed”, “covers”, “stains”, “bathroom”,
“smell”, “towels”, ”looks” all play major role in ensuring that this 32 categories are satisfying
before purchase is made. Therefore, it is essential for the hotels to ensure that cleanliness is at
the top level at all times as well as ensuring they are promoted trough pictures presented to a
guest during their decision making process in order to enable them to get attracted to this
crucial factor (Lockyer, 2005)

Figure 5 - Special Map – Cleanliness (Lockyer, 2005).

An Overview of Earlier Studies

Some of the outstanding studies conducted on marketing and purchasing practices,

production, sales and marketing strategies of business firms in respect of customer preference
and decision making process in hotel industry were thoroughly examined in the literature
review. The main thrust of these studies is the evaluation of the preferences of Oyo hotels and
homes. Regarding to this study, some eminent professor’s and academicians quality research
paper reviews has been taken by studying their research papers on customer preferences in
decision making process.

Mu Zhang et al (2015) paper adopts Gap model and SERVQUAL questionnaire as a

reference, builds six service quality dimensions of online travel booking which supported
data analysis and research, namely, "tangible", "reliability", "guarantee", "responsiveness",
"empathy" and "user friendliness", with 18 specific measurements, the web travel booking
service quality measurement instrument is eventually established. The authors gave following
conclusions:

(1) There's significant difference between customer perceived service quality standards and
customer expectations of service quality level of online travel booking.
(2) The web travel booking service quality dimensions positively correlated with overall
satisfaction.

O‟Neill, M.A et al, (2012), assessed the service quality using Gap analysis, during this study
the perceived quality of a given service is that the outcome of an evaluation process during
which customers compare their prior expectations of the service thereupon they need actually
received. That is, having perceived service against the expected service.

According to Michael McCormick, executive vice chairman, Hospitality and Leisure

Services, Cendant Travel Distribution, 2003 - travel agents‟ difficulty may be results of the
changes in airline commissions, the agencies‟ former revenue mainstay. In 1999 domestic-
airline revenue was 53 percent of agency revenue. In 2001 that figure had dropped to 45
percent-a 15-percent drop in just two years-and airlines have continued to diminish their
commission payments.

According to Dr.NamrataMaheshwari ,Dr.Jesu A. Kundailaraj (Determining The Factors

Affecting Customers Satisfaction in OYO rooms, JETIR (ISSN-2349-5162)) , an online hotel
booking service organization is getting popularity all over India for their innovative and
technology based services. The customers are getting tech-savvy and are using Internet for
booking hotels online. It is important to know the factors that are determining the consumer’s
changing behaviour. The purpose of the paper is to know the factors influencing customer’s
decision in occupy OYO rooms. An exploratory study using Purposive sampling survey was
carried out for the purpose. Principal Component Analysis conducted on 220 responses
revealed five factors that explained 59% of the variation in perceived service quality
dimensions. The factors were found to be valid and reliable. Chi-Square analysis revealed
that customer demographics play a significant role in frequency of use of digital wallets for
payment. The contribution of the study is that it develops an additional insight to understand
consumer behaviour in online hotel booking services.

Uniqueness of the Study

Customer preference is important to companies because it provides an indicator of their

customer’s loyalty, the success of their marketing tactics, and the strength of their respective
brands. It also reflects a desire to use a particular company’s products or services, even when
there are equally priced and equally available alternatives. In fact, more often than not, brand
preference indicates a desire to seek out a specific product or service, even when it requires
paying more or expending more effort to obtain it.

Kerala is a popular destination for both domestic as well as foreign tourists. Kerala is
regarded as one of the destinations with the highest brand recall. According to the statistics
released by Kerala tourism in 2019, Kerala attracted 1.96 crore domestic and foreign tourist
arrivals. Hence the demand and supply in hospitality industry does not match the current
market demands.

Previous studies regarding this topic do not give any conclusion about the customer decision
making process and preferences towards OYO homes in Kerala. Hence this study highlights
the factors which influence the customer decision making process and preferences towards
the OYO home stays in Kerala which help the company to formulate the better marketing
strategies as well as the customer retention strategies to withstand in the market.

To conclude literature review chapter it is important to note that in fast growing hospitality
industry predicting customer desire and need are key in order to drive business, especially in
the hotel sector. Therefore, for the hoteliers it is important to understand hotel selection
factors and decision-making process that guest follow when selecting hotel to stay in.
Additionally, lot of previous literature has been focusing on choice attributes that could be
very subjective rather than decision-making process that could offer more objective approach
to the way guests select hotel to stay in. This study will provide recommendation for the
future research in the customer preferences and decision making process towards OYO
homes as well as the hospitality industry overall.
 CHAPTER – 4
METHODOLOGY OF THE STUDY
 METHODOLOGY OF THE STUDY

Methodology is the systematic, theoretical analysis of the methods applied to a field of study.
It comprises the theoretical analysis of the body of methods and principles associated with a
branch of knowledge. These include identification of the problem, survey, data collection and
report writing. The research conducted on a topic does not provide a solution but it provides
with an understanding like method or best suitable ways that can be applied towards a case.
Instead, the methodology offers theoretical underpinning for understanding which method,
set of methods, or best practices can be applied to a specific case.

The research design was selected based on the objectives of the study and keeping in mind
the time and availability for the research.

Research approach and design

Research design acts as the blueprint for the research. By using this framework the researcher
moves step by step in to the research process. It constitutes the basic forms for the collection,
measurement and analysis of data. Research design stands for the advanced planning of the
methods to be adopted for collection of relevant data. Moreover, it explains about the
techniques to be used in the analysis, keeping in view the objective of the research. This
research design was selected based on the objective on the study and keeping in mind the
time and availability of recourses for the research

Here the study is done by using Descriptive research by giving online Questionnaire to the
respondents. The Research Design used for the study is to understand the customer
preference and decision making towards OYO Home services. In this research work, the data
is gathered through the sources of primary and secondary data collection sources. An online
questionnaire is prepared based on formulated objectives for the survey.

Sources of online data

The sources of data collected for the study are from;

Primary Data

Primary data is the first hand data, Collection of the primary data is done through survey
Questionnaire given online to customers who already experienced the OYO Home services
and will be asked to fill it according to the instructions provided. Since this study depends
completely on the customer’s choice, primary data is important.

Secondary Data

Secondary data will be collected from different sources like published articles, research
papers, published books, previous researches, company catalogues, internet sites, company
profile etc.

Sampling design

Sample design lays down all the details to be included in a sample. It is a definite plan for
obtaining a sample from a given population. In this study, convenience sampling technique is
used.

The population selected for the study are the people residing in Kerala. The sample frame
selected for the study is the customers of hospitality industry in Kerala. The sampling unit
includes the customers of OYO Homes Services. The sample size is 121.

The different sampling techniques used for the research study are;

1.  Systematic sampling

Individuals are selected at regular intervals from the sampling frame. The intervals are chosen
to ensure an adequate sample size. If you need a sample size n from a population of size x,
you should select every x/nth individual for the sample. Systematic sampling is often more
convenient than simple random sampling, and it is easy to administer.

2. Stratified sampling

In this method, the population is first divided into subgroups (or strata) who all share a
similar characteristic. It is used when we might reasonably expect the measurement of
interest to vary between the different subgroups, and we want to ensure representation from
all the subgroups.
Stratified sampling improves the accuracy and representativeness of the results by reducing
sampling bias. However, it requires knowledge of the appropriate characteristics of the
sampling frame (the details of which are not always available), and it can be difficult to
decide which characteristic(s) to stratify by.

3. Clustered sampling

In a clustered sample, subgroups of the population are used as the sampling unit, rather than
individuals. The population is divided into subgroups, known as clusters, which are randomly
selected to be included in the study.

Clusters are usually already defined, for example individual GP practices or towns could be
identified as clusters. In single-stage cluster sampling, all members of the chosen clusters are
then included in the study. In two-stage cluster sampling, a selection of individuals from each
cluster is then randomly selected for inclusion. Clustering should be taken into account in the
analysis. 

Cluster sampling can be more efficient that simple random sampling, especially where a
study takes place over a wide geographical region. For instance, it is easier to contact lots of
individuals in a few GP practices than a few individuals in many different GP practices.
Disadvantages include an increased risk of bias, if the chosen clusters are not representative
of the population, resulting in an increased sampling error.

Data analysis tools

The data will be collected using an online questionnaire which is sent to the customers. The
tools used for analysis are SPSS and MS Excel. The use of statistical tools is for having a
thorough and viable scientific analysis. The basic statistical toll for analysis used is: Anova,
Chi-square Test, T-test these will help in a conclusive study.

Data Analysis Package

The SPSS tool used for the study is IBM SPSS STATISTICS:
Data Analysis Tool

The different analysis tool used for the analysis is;

1. ANOVA Test

An ANOVA test is a way to find out if survey or experiment results are significant. In other

words, they help you to figure out if you need to reject the null hypothesis or accept
the alternate hypothesis.

Null hypothesis: There is no significant difference in between variables.

Alternate hypothesis: There is a significant difference in between the variables.

Types of Test

There are two main types: one-way and two-way.

 One-way ANOVA between groups: used when you want to test two groups to see if
there’s a difference between them.
 Two way ANOVA without replication: used when you have one group and
you’re double-testing that same group.
 Two way ANOVA with replication: Two groups, and the members of those groups
are doing more than one thing.

2. CHI- SQUARE Test

This is an important test amongst the several tests of significance. It is used in the
context of sampling analysis for comparing a variance to a theoretical variance.
Uses of chi-square:
a) To test independence of attributes.
b) To test homogeneity,
c) To test goodness of fit.
Formula:
(O¡ - E¡) ²/ E¡
The calculated valued of χ2 is compared with the table value of χ2for a given degree of
freedom at a specified value of significance.
If the calculated value is more than tabulated value, the difference between theory and
observation is considered to be significance.
If the calculated value of χ2 is less than the table value the difference between theory and
observation is considered as insignificance.

Report Structure

The introduction chapter includes background of the study, statement of the problem,
relevance & scope of the study and objectives of the study.

The second chapter is all about the industry, which includes industry profile, business process
of the industry, company profile, market demand and supply, contribution of the industry to
GDP, Details about revenue generation. It also includes the level and type of competition in
the industry, firms operating in the industry. This chapter also gives a clear idea about the
pricing strategies, prospects and challenges and key drivers of the industry.

Third chapter is about review of literature. It includes a brief theoretical framework related to
the problem. It also gives an overview of earlier studies. This chapter defines the uniqueness
of the study.

The fourth chapter explains the methodology of the study. It includes research approach and
design, sources of online data, sampling design used, data analysis tools and limitations of the
study.

Fifth chapter is all about the analysis of data. The analysis is done with the help of SPSS. It
also deals with the interpretation and inference about the problem.

The sixth chapter consists of findings, which provide the result of analysis of the collected
data.

Seventh chapter draws conclusion for the study.

Limitations of the Study

 The limitation of this research work is the time limit of one and a half months.
 The feedback given by the respondents may not be absolutely correct.
 Respondent’s choice can be influenced by their culture, lifestyle etc. which could
create a difference in opinion.
 Some of the respondents did not fulfil the entire question and omitted them.
 The research and survey conducted was limited to a particular region (Kerala only).
 CHAPTER 5
ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION
 ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

Data Analysis

Data analysis is a process of inspecting, cleansing, transforming, and modelling data with the
goal of discovering useful information, suggesting conclusions, and supporting decision-
making.

Demographic Characteristics of the Respondents

Demographic characteristics of the customer play a major role in making purchase decisions.
Here we are analysing the demographic characteristics such as gender, age, occupation,
income level, family size and reason behind the visit or short stay of the respondents.

Analysis and interpretation

1. Gender
Table 1 Gender of the respondent

Gender Frequency Percent

Male 72 59.5
Female 49 40.5

Total 121 100.0

Figure 6 Level of usage of OYO Home services between males and females

Interpretation

59.5% of the respondents are male and 40.5% respondents are female. From this result, we
can infer that males prefer availing OYO Home services than females.

2. Age
The purchase decision of person changes with different life cycles. Here, the level of usage of
OYO Home services offered for different age groups is shown. Different categories of age
analyzed are up to 20 years, 21 to 30 years, 31 to 40 years, 41 to 50 and above 50 years.

Table 2 Age of the customers

Age Frequency Percent

21 - 30Figure 7 Level of age of 101

the customers 83.5
31 - 40 16 13.2
41 - 50 2 1.7
above 50 2 1.7
Total 121 100.0

Interpretation

No respondents were below 20 years of age. 83.5% of respondents were aged between 21 to
30 years. 31 to 40 age groups constitute only 13.2 % of respondents. 1.7 % of respondents
was aged between 41 to 50 years and above 50 age groups constitutes only 1.7% .From this it
is evident that the majority of people who avail OYO Home services are between the ages of
21 to 30 years. There were no respondents who were aged up to 20 years.

3. Occupation

Table 3 Occupation of the customers

Occupation Frequency Percent

Salaried 31 25.6
Self employed 22 18.2
Professional 10 8.3
Student 58 47.9
Total 121 100.0
 Figure 8 Occupation of the customers

Interpretation
Among the respondents, 47.9 % of the respondents were students.25.6 % of respondents were
salaried. 18.2% of respondents had self-employed business and 8.3 % of them were
professional. Here we can infer that most of the respondents are students and salaried.

4. Income Level

The main factor affecting any person’s buying behavior is his level of income. The customer
won’t purchase above his purchasing power. Following are the various income levels of the
respondents of my survey.

Table 4 Income Level of the Customers

 Income Level Frequency Percent

0 - 25 k 59 48.8
26 - 50 k 29 24.0
51 - 75 k 16 13.2
76 - 1 Lacs 11 9.1
Above 1 Lacs 6 5.0
Total 121 100.0

Figure 9 Income Level of the Customer

Interpretation

From the study it is evident that the respondents earn an income level above 1 lacs are 6
numbers. 11 respondents earn an income level between 76 to 1 lacs. 16 respondents earn an
income between 51 k to 75 k.29 respondent earns an income level of 26 k to 50 k and most of
the respondent (59 numbers) earns an income level of 0 to 25 k.

5. Family Size
The main factor affecting any person’s buying behaviour is his/her size of family. He/she
won’t purchase above his requirements for the family.

Table 5 Family size of the customers

Family Size Frequency Percent

0 - 3 members 32 26.4
 4 - 6 members 79 65.3
7 - 9 members 6 5.0
9 - 12 members 1 .8
Above 12 3 2.5
Total 121 100.0

Figure 10 Family sizes of the customers

Interpretation

It is evident from the study that the respondent’s family consists of 0 – 3 members are 32
numbers, followed by 4 – 6 members are 79 respondent. 6 respondents have 7 – 9 members
in their family. 1 respondent belongs to 9 – 12 members in their family and 3 respondents
belong to above 12 member family.

6. Reason behind the Stay

Table 6 Reason behind the stay

Reason behind the stay Frequency Percent

Family vacation lodging 49 40.5

Business/official trip lodging 19 15.7
 Local event lodging 13 10.7
Temporary living lodging 17 14.0
Others 23 19.0
Total 121 100.0

Figure 11 Level of reason behind the stay in OYO Homes

Interpretation

Among the respondent, 40.5 % people use OYO Homes for family vacation lodging.15.7%
use the service for business/official trip lodging. The respondent used the OYO Homes foe
local event lodging are 10.7% and 14% of the respondent uses the service for temporary
living lodging. 19% of the total respondent uses the OYO Homes for other purposes.

7. Are you satisfied with your reservation process was it efficient and recorded
accurately?

Are you satisfied with Frequency Percent

your reservation
process
 Highly Satisfied 13 10.7
Satisfied 98 81
Neutral 4 3.3
Dissatisfied 4 3.3
Highly Dissatisfied 2 1.7
Total 121 100

Interpretation

Among the respondents, we can see that majority of the respondents 81% are satisfied with
your reservation process was it efficient and recorded accurately, and only a small present
of the respondents dissatisfied. This shows the highly satisfaction of the OYO Homes.

8. Are you satisfied with the quick check-in process of OYO Homes?

Are you satisfied Frequency Percent

with quick check in
 process
Highly Satisfied 12 9.9
Satisfied 96 79.3
Neutral 6 5
Dissatisfied 4 3.3
Highly Dissatisfied 3 2.5
Total 121 100

Interpretation

From the above table we can see that majority of the respondents is satisfied with the quick
check-in process of OYO Homes, in the table we can see 79.3% of the respondents have
satisfied with quick check-in process of OYO Homes.
9. Are you satisfied with the receptionist team, were they courteous and
informative?

Are you satisfied Frequency Percent

with the receptionist
team
Highly Satisfied 10 8.3
Satisfied 93 76.9
Neutral 10 8.3
Dissatisfied 5 4.1
Highly Dissatisfied 3 2.5
Total 121 100

Interpretation

From the above table we can see that the majority of the respondents are satisfied with the
with the receptionist team, were they courteous and informative, 76.9% of the total
respondents are happy with the with the receptionist team, were they courteous and
informative.

10. Are you satisfied with OYO Homes amenities (pool, exercise ground,
playground) was it clean, attractive, and properly equipped?
 Are you satisfied Frequency Percent
with the Oyo Homes
amenities
Highly Satisfied 15 12.4
Satisfied 96 79.3
Neutral 5 4.1
Dissatisfied 3 2.5
Highly Dissatisfied 2 1.7
Total 121 100

Interpretation

From the above table we can analysis that 79.3% of total respondents are satisfied with the
OYO Homes amenities (pool, exercise ground, playground) was it clean, attractive, and
properly equipped, this shows the satisfaction of the majority of the population.

11. How satisfied are you with the housekeeping team, were they friendly and
available during your stay at OYO Homes?
 Are you satisfied are Frequency Percent
you with
housekeeping team
Highly Satisfied 11 9.1
Satisfied 94 77.7
Neutral 8 6.6
Dissatisfied 5 4.1
Highly Dissatisfied 3 2.5
Total 121 100

Interpretation

From the above table we can analysis that 77.7% of total respondents are satisfied with the
housekeeping team, and they also agree with the point that they are friendly and happy, this
shows the satisfaction of the majority of the population.

12. Are you satisfied with the food and beverage service provided by OYO Homes
during your stay?

Are you satisfied Frequency Percent

with food and
 beverage service
provided
Highly Satisfied 13 10.7
Satisfied 96 79.3
Neutral 6 6
Dissatisfied 5 5
Highly Dissatisfied 1 1
Total 121 100

Interpretation

From the above table we can see that the majority of the respondents are satisfied with the
food and beverage provided by OYO Homes during stay, 79.3% of the total respondents are
happy with the Food and Beverage.

13. Are you satisfied with the way the customer support team responded to your
queries and support assistance?

Are you satisfied Frequency Percent

with the way
customer support
 team responded to
your queries
Highly Satisfied 11 9.0
Satisfied 90 74.4
Neutral 10 8.3
Dissatisfied 7 5.8
Highly Dissatisfied 3 2.5
Total 121 100

Interpretation

From the above table we can see that the majority of the respondents are satisfied with the
way the customer support team responded to your queries and support assistance, 74.4% of
the total respondents are happy with the with the customer support team.

14. How satisfied are you with easy and flexible in booking of OYO Homes service
during your trip?

How satisfied are Frequency Percent

you with easy &
flexible in booking
 Oyo Homes
Highly Satisfied 9 7.4
Satisfied 101 83.5
Neutral 8 6.6
Dissatisfied 2 1.7
Highly Dissatisfied 1 0.8
Total 121 100

Interpretation

From the above table we can see that majority of the respondents is satisfied with the easy
and flexible booking of OYO Homes, in the table we can see 83.5% of the respondents
have satisfied with easy and flexible booking of OYO Homes.

15. Do you get OYO Homes at the most premium location or easily accessible
location during your trip?

Do you get Oyo Frequency Percent

 Homes at most
premium location
Yes 101 83.5
No 3 2.5
Maybe 17 14
Total 121 100

Interpretation

From the above table we can see that majority of the respondents has opted for YES for most
premium location or easily accessible, in the table we can see 83.5% of the respondents have
satisfied with location or easily accessible.

16. How satisfied are you in getting the availability of OYO Homes during your trip?

How satisfied are Frequency Percent

you in getting the
availability of Oyo
homes
 Highly Satisfied 13 10.7
Satisfied 97 80.2
Neutral 4 3.3
Dissatisfied 5 4.1
Highly Dissatisfied 2 1.7
Total 121 100

Interpretation

From the above table we can see that the majority of the respondents are satisfied with
getting the availability of Oyo homes, 80.2% of the total respondents are happy with the
availability of Oyo homes.

17. Are you satisfied with the payment options provided by OYO Homes?

Are you satisfied Frequency Percent

with the payment
options provide by
Oyo Homes
 Highly Satisfied 9 7.4
Satisfied 97 80.2
Neutral 8 6.6
Dissatisfied 4 3.3
Highly Dissatisfied 3 2.5
Total 121 100

Interpretation

From the above table we can see that the majority of the respondents are satisfied with the
payment options provided by OYO Homes, 80.2% of the total respondents are happy with
the payment options provided by OYO Homes.

18. Are you satisfied with the refund process of OYO Homes?

Are you satisfied Frequency Percent

with the refund
process of Oyo
Homes
 Highly Satisfied 8 6.6
Satisfied 89 73.6
Neutral 15 12.4
Dissatisfied 4 3.3
Highly Dissatisfied 5 4.1
Total 121 100

Interpretation

From the above table we can see that the majority of the respondents are satisfied with the
refund process of Oyo Homes, 73.6% of the total respondents are happy with the refund
options provided by OYO Homes.

19. How affordable was your stay at OYO Homes?

How affordable was Frequency Percent

your stay at OYO
Homes
 Highly Satisfied 12 9.9
Satisfied 97 80.2
Neutral 7 5.8
Dissatisfied 4 3.3
Highly Dissatisfied 1 0.8
Total 121 100

Interpretation

From the above table we can see that the majority of the respondents are satisfied with the
point that Oyo Homes was satisfied with the Affordable stay in Oyo, 80.2%% of the total
respondents are happy with the affordable stay in Oyo homes.

20. Do you think that OYO Homes provide value for the money you spend?

Do you think that Frequency Percent

Oyo Homes provide
value for the money
you spend
 Yes 102 84.3
No 7 5.8
Maybe 12 9.9
Total 121 100

Interpretation

From the above table we can see that the majority of the respondents are satisfied with the
point that OYO Homes provide value for the money you spend, 84.3% of the total
respondents are happy That OYO Homes provide value for money.

21. Rate your comfort and ambiance during the stay in OYO Homes

Rate your comfort & Frequency Percent

ambiance during stay
in Oyo Homes
 1 (Low) 5 4.1
2 3 2.5
3 9 7.4
4 86 71.1
5 (High) 18 14.9
Total 121 100

Interpretation

From the above table we can see that the majority of the respondents are satisfied with the
comfort and ambiance during the stay in OYO Homes, 86% of the total respondents are
happy with comfort and ambiance during the stay in OYO Homes.

T-Test of total satisfaction of respondent based on gender of the customer

Null hypothesis: There is no significant difference in between overall total satisfaction of the
customers in OYO-Homes service based on the gender of the customer.
Alternate hypothesis: There is a significant difference in overall total satisfaction of
customer in OYO-Homes service based on the gender of the customers.

Table 7- T - Test of total satisfaction of respondent based on gender of the customer

Group Statistics
VAR0004 Std. Std. Error
5 N Mean Deviation Mean
STAT Male 72 2.0648 .50461 .05947
I Female 49 2.0224 .36784 .05255

Independent Samples Test

Levene's
Test for
Equality of
Variances t-test for Equality of Means
95%
Confidence
Sig. Interval of the
(2- Mean Std. Error Difference
F Sig. t df tailed) Difference Difference Lower Upper
STATI 4.770 .031 .505 119 .615 .04246 .08416 -.1241 .20910
Equal 7
variances
assumed .535 118.39 .594 .04246 .07936 -.1146 .19961
Equal 4 8
variances
not
assumed
Interpretation

From the above table we can interpret that the T test show a value of .505 and have a
significance value of less than 0.05 so in this scenario we can accept the null hypothesis that
there is no significant difference in between overall satisfaction of the customers in OYO
Homes service based on the gender of the customer.

ANOVA - ANOVA of total satisfaction of respondent based on age of the customer

Null hypothesis: There is no significant difference in between overall total satisfaction of the
customers in OYO Homes service based on the age of the customer.
Alternate hypothesis: There is a significant difference in overall total satisfaction of
customer in OYO Homes service based on the age of the customers.

Table 8 - ANOVA of total satisfaction of respondent based on age of the customer

ANOVA
Total
Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig.

Between
330.381 3 110.127 2.241 .087
Groups
Within
5749.636 117 49.142
Groups
Total 6080.017 120

Interpretation

F = 2.241 is not significance because the significance value 0.087 is greater than 0.05. Hence
there is no significance difference in the customer preference towards OYO Home based on
Age.

ANOVA of total satisfaction of respondent based on occupation of the customer

Null hypothesis: There is no significant difference in between overall total satisfaction of the
customers in OYO Homes service based on occupation of the customer.
Alternate hypothesis: There is a significant difference in overall total satisfaction of
customer in OYO Homes service based on occupation of the customer.

Table 9 - ANOVA of total satisfaction based on occupation of the customer

ANOVA
total
Sum of Squares df Mean Square F S
i
g
.
.
Between 1
312.535 3 104.178 2.113
Groups 0
2
Within
5767.481 117 49.295
Groups
Total 6080.017 120

Interpretation

F = 2.113 is not significance because the significance value .102 is greater than 0.05. Hence
there is no significance difference in the customer preference towards OYO Home based on
occupation.

ANOVA of total satisfaction of respondent based on Income Level of the customer

Null hypothesis: There is no significant difference in between overall total satisfaction of the
customers in OYO Homes service based on income level of the customer.

Alternate hypothesis: There is a significant difference in overall total satisfaction of

customer in OYO Homes service based on income level of the customer.
 Table 10 ANOVA of total satisfaction based on Income Level of the customer

ANOVA
total
Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig.

Between Groups 289.445 4 72.361 1.450 .222

Within Groups 5790.572 116 49.919

Total 6080.017 120

Interpretation

F = 1.450 is not significance because the significance value .222 is greater than 0.05. Hence
there is no significance difference in the customer preference towards OYO Home based on
income level.

ANOVA of total satisfaction of respondent based on family size of the customer

Null hypothesis: There is no significant difference in between overall total satisfaction of the
customers in OYO Homes service based on family size of the customer.

Alternate hypothesis: There is a significant difference in overall total satisfaction of

customer in OYO Homes service based on family size of the customers.
 Table 11 ANOVA of total satisfaction based on family size of the customer

ANOVA

total
Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig.

Between
244.440 4 61.110 1.215 .308
Groups
Within Groups 5835.576 116 50.307
Total 6080.017 120

Interpretation

F = 1.215 is not significance because the significance value 0.308 is greater than 0.05. Hence
there is no significance difference in the customer preference towards OYO Home based on
family size.

ANOVA of total satisfaction of respondent based on the reason behind the visit of the
customer

Null hypothesis: There is no significant difference in between overall total satisfaction of the
customers in OYO Homes service based on the reason behind the visit of the customer.
Alternate hypothesis: There is a significant difference in overall total satisfaction of
customer in OYO Homes service based on the reason behind the visit of the customer.

Table 12 ANOVA of total satisfaction of based on the reason behind the visit

ANOVA
total
Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig.

Between
23.913 4 5.978 .115 .977
Groups
Within Groups 6056.103 116 52.208
Total 6080.017 120

Interpretation

F = .115 is not significance because the significance value 0.997 is greater than 0.05. Hence
there is no significance difference in the customer preference towards OYO Home based on
reason behind the stay of the customer.

Chi- Square test on how the reason behind the stay of the customer in OYO Homes varies
with the income level of the customer.
Null hypothesis: There is no significant associated between the reason behind the stay of the
customer in OYO Homes and the income level of the customer.
Alternative hypothesis: There is significant associated between the reason behind the stay of
the customer in OYO Homes and the income level of the customer
Table 14 - Chi- Square test statistics on how the reason behind the stay of the customer
in OYO Homes varies with the income level of the customer

Reason behind your visit or short stay in OYO Homes

Test Statistics Observed N Expected N Residual
Family vacation lodging Reason49
behind your visit24.2Income Level24.8
Business/official trip lodging or short
19 stay in OYO 24.2 -5.2
Local event lodging 13Homes 24.2 -11.2
Temporary living lodging 17 24.2 -7.2
Chi-Square 33.917a 74.661a
Others 23 24.2 -1.2
df 4 4
Total 121
Asymp. Sig. .000 .000
Income Level
a. 0 cells (.0%) have expected frequencies less than 5. The
Observed
minimum expected N
cell frequency is Expected
24.2. N Residual
0 - 25 k 59 24.2 34.8
26 - 50 k 29 24.2 4.8
51 - 75 k 16 24.2 -8.2
76 - 1 Lacs 11 24.2 -13.2
Above 1 Lacs 6 24.2 -18.2
Total 121

Interpretation

There is significant associated between the reason behind the stay of the customer in OYO
Homes and the income level of the customer. Hence the alternate hypothesis is accepted.

Chi- Square test on how the reason behind the stay of the customer in OYO Homes varies
with the total satisfaction of the customers.

Null hypothesis: There is no significant associated between the reason behind the stay of the
customer in OYO Homes and total satisfaction of the customer.

Alternative hypothesis: There is significant associated between the reason behind the stay of
the customer in OYO Homes and total satisfaction of the customer.

Table 15 Chi- Square test statistics on how the reason behind the stay of the customer
in OYO Homes varies with the total satisfaction of the customers.

Reason behind your visit or short stay in OYO Homes

Observed N Expected N Residual
Family vacation lodging
49 24.2 24.8
Business/official trip lodging
19 24.2 -5.2

Local event lodging

13 24.2 -11.2

Temporary living lodging

17 24.2 -7.2

Others 23 24.2 -1.2

Total 121

Total
Observed N Expected N Residual
19.00 1 4.2 -3.2
28.00 1 4.2 -3.2
42.00 1 4.2 -3.2
44.00 1 4.2 -3.2
45.00 3 4.2 -1.2
47.00 2 4.2 -2.2
48.00 2 4.2 -2.2
49.00 1 4.2 -3.2
50.00 1 4.2 -3.2
52.00 2 4.2 -2.2
53.00 3 4.2 -1.2
54.00 4 4.2 -.2
55.00 3 4.2 -1.2
56.00 6 4.2 1.8
57.00 4 4.2 -.2
58.00 15 4.2 10.8
59.00 13 4.2 8.8
60.00 15 4.2 10.8
Test Statistics
61.00 12 4.2 7.8
total Reason behind your visit
62.00 10 4.2 5.8
or short stay in OYO
63.00 8 4.2 3.8
Homes
64.00 3 4.2 -1.2
Chi-Square 134.248a 33.917b
df66.00 2 28 4.2 4 -2.2
67.00 Sig.
Asymp. 2 .000 4.2 .000 -2.2
a.68.00 2 expected frequencies
29 cells (100.0%) have 4.2less than 5. The minimum
-2.2
69.00 cell frequency1 is 4.2.
expected 4.2 -3.2
b.71.00 1
0 cells (.0%) have expected 4.2than 5. The minimum
frequencies less -3.2
expected cell frequency
72.00 1 is 24.2. 4.2 -3.2
73.00 1 4.2 -3.2
Total 121
Interpretation

There is significant associated between the reason behind the stay of the customer in OYO
Homes and total satisfaction of the customer. Hence the alternate hypothesis is accepted.
 CHAPTER 6
FINDINGS AND SUGGESTION OF THE STUDY

FINDINGSOF THE STUDY

From the study,

 We can understand that 58.7% of the respondents are male and 40.5% respondents are
female. Hence males prefer availing OYO Home services than females.
 No respondents were below 20 years of age. 83.5% of respondents were aged between
21 to 30 years. 31 to 40 age groups constitute only 13.2 % of respondents. 1.7 % of
respondents was aged between 41 to 50 years and above 50 age groups constitutes
 only 1.7% .From this it is evident that the majority of people who avail OYO Home
services are between the ages of 21 to 30 years.
 Among the respondents, 47.9 % of the respondents were students.25.6 % of
respondents were salaried. 18.2% of respondents had self-employed business and 8.3
% of them were professional. Here we can infer that most of the respondents are
students and salaried.
 It is evident that the respondents earn an income level above 1 lacs are 6 numbers. 11
respondents earn an income level between 76 to 1 lacs. 16 respondents earn an
income between 51 k to 75 k.29 respondent earns an income level of 26 k to 50 k and
most of the respondent (59 numbers) earns an income level of 0 to 25 k.
 It is evident from the study that the respondent’s family consists of 0 – 3 members are
32 numbers, followed by 4 – 6 members are 79 respondent. 6 respondents have 7 – 9
members in their family. 1 respondent belongs to 9 – 12 members in their family and
3 respondents belong to above 12 member family.
 Among the respondent, 40.5 % people use OYO Homes for family vacation
lodging.15.7% use the service for business/official trip lodging. The respondent used
the OYO Homes foe local event lodging are 10.7% and 14% of the respondent uses
the service for temporary living lodging. 19% of the total respondent uses the OYO
Homes for other purposes. Hence the most of the customer uses the OYO Homes
services for family vacation lodging.
 Based on ANOVA test
 There is no significance difference in the customer preference towards OYO Home
based on Age.
 There is no significance difference in the customer preference towards OYO Home
based on occupation
 There is no significance difference in the customer preference towards OYO Home
based on income level
 There is no significance difference in the customer preference towards OYO Home
based on family size
 There is no significance difference in the customer preference towards OYO Home
based on reason behind the stay of the customer.
 Based on CHI-Square Test
 There is significant associated between the reason behind the stay of the customer in
OYO Homes and the income level of the customer.
 There is significant associated between the reason behind the stay of the customer in
OYO Homes and total satisfaction of the customer
 CHAPTER 7
SUGGESTION AND CONCLUSION

SUGGESTIONS

 It was found that the age category of 21 to 30 years avails Oyo Homes services more
from the company. Advertising more in newspapers, magazines and television may
help the company to attract customers of age group 41 - 50 and above 50 years which
has great potential.
 The company can provide more preference to the active customers and there are
chances of these customers suggesting the company to others. Regular follow up
should be done on existing customers to retain them.

CONCLUSION

 The growth of the tourism and technology plays a major role in the development and
growth of OYO Homes and other hospitality industry.
 It can be inferred from the study that, when it comes to booking a hotel room online
‘OYO’ is the first preference followed by ‘Goibibo’ and the most important purpose
behind stay at OYO is ‘fully furnished hotel rooms’ followed by ‘OYO Home Stays’.
 Discount offers, affordable prices for stay, convenience of using the app, personal
safety and security, quality of hotel rooms, comfortable check ins check outs and
stays, easy cancellation of bookings, accessibility and availability of staff to solve
problems, brand image of OYO are the most important motivating factors behind
choosing OYO Rooms for online hotel booking over its competitors and people are
interested in giving recommendations of OYO Home stays.
 BIBLIOGRAPHY

BIBLIOGRAPHY

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