OYO Jiudian, the Chinese subsidiary of SoftBank-backed hospitality chain OYO Hotels & Homes, has fired 25 employees, and issued warnings to over 100 more, as the Gurgaon-headquartered company sought to crack down on what it has described as “unethical practices.”
In a statement sent out on Wednesday, the hospitality company, which commanded a valuation of $5 billion in its Series E funding round, said it had also formed an integrity committee to weed out instances of misconduct and unethical practices, while continuing to double down on corporate governance and ensuring compliance across levels.
The company, however, did not disclose the exact offenses committed by the alleged perpetrators, except to state that the majority of the offenses involved sums of RMB 10. It also yet unclear when these finings took place.
The newly-constituted integrity committee set up by the company, mirrors the one set up by Chinese internet conglomerate JD.com, with representation from select senior leadership members and third-party representatives, according to the press statement.
OYO also stated that it has delisted two hotels in the last two months, subject to fulfillment of quality standards and other customer experience checks, as part of its quality assurance program.
OYO, which entered China, the world’s second-largest economy, in late 2017, refers to the Middle Kingdom as its second home market, and at par with India.
According to data shared by the company, it is currently present in over 290 cities across China, operating more than 8,000 hotels and 400,000 rooms on a franchised and leased basis, and claims to be the second-largest hotel chain in the country.
Last month, OYO was in talks to acquire Islands(Qianyu), a midsize hotel brand in China, a deal that is likely to mark the SoftBank-backed company’s first acquisition in the country.
Of the $1 billion-plus that the company has raised till date, OYO has earmarked $600 million towards its operations in China, with the rest directed towards hiring and other overseas markets such as south-east Asia and the UK.
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