Hailing from Odisha, Ritesh Agarwal is a young entrepreneur and the founder and CEO of OYO Hotels & Homes.
He completed his schooling in Rayagada, Odisha. After class 12th, he enrolled himself in Indian School of Business & Finance, Delhi only to discontinue his studies. At the mere age of sixteen, he was nominated among the brilliant minds to be selected for Asian Science Camp that was held at TIFR (Tata Institute of Fundamental Research), Mumbai. When Ritesh turned seventeen, he got the limelight for his best-selling book titled The Encyclopedia of Indian Engineering Colleges.
In 2012, Ritesh Agarwal also launched Oravel Stays to book budget accommodations. Later he traveled across the Nation at a very young age and stayed at over 100 guest houses, properties and hotels and realized the need of affordable, beautiful and good-quality hotels and comfortable living space within a budget for all. With this mindset, later he converted Oravel to OYO in 2013. Today, this brand is among the world’s leading chain of hotels, homes, and spaces.
Oyo Hotels & Homes is an Indian hotel chain which has become the largest and rapidly-increasing hospitality chain of leased and franchised hotels, homes and living spaces. During the initial phase, OYO was mainly dealing with budget hotels. Later, the startup expanded worldwide with thousands of hotels and vacation homes in numerous cities of India, Malaysia, Nepal, UK, UAE, Sri Lanka and many more.
The company was successfully able to attract investors like SoftBank Group, Greenoaks Capital, Sequoia India, Light speed India, Hero Enterprise, and Airbnb. Presently, OYO employs over 17,000 people worldwide and around 8000 are in India and South Asia. OYO has also established 26 training centers for hospitality enthusiasts across India. In 2019, the company set a benchmark by generating revenue of USD 951 million under the leadership of Ritesh Agarwal.
Basic Information
| Name | Ritesh Agarwal |
| Category | Enterpreneur |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Alma Mater | Sacred Heart School in Rayagada, Orissa, Indian School of Business and Finance in Delhi |
| Occupation | Founder of OYO Rooms |
| Net Worth | $500 million |
| Birthday | 16th November 1993 |
| Birth Place | Cuttack(Bhisam), Orissa |
| Age | 24 |
| Spouse | No |
Career Journey
| Company | Description |
| Oravel Stay | Ritesh Agarwal started his first venture in 2012 |
| OYO Rooms | In 2013 he relaunched Oravel Stay as “OYO Rooms”. |
Awards and Honors
| Name(Year) | Awarding organisation |
| TiE-Lumis Entrepreneurial Excellence Award (2014) | TiE Lumis Entrepreneurial Excellence Award |
| ’20 Under 20’ Thiel Fellowship (2013) | Thiel Fellowship |
| Top 50 Entrepreneurs(2013) | TATA First Dot Awards |
| Finalist of Global Student Entrepreneurship Awards | Global Student Entrepreneur Awards |
| 8 Hottest Teenage Start Up Founders(2013) | Business Insider |
Popular Books
| Name | Abstract |
| Indian Engineering Colleges: A Complete Encyclopaedia of Top 100 Engineering Colleges | – |
Early Life
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