SoftBank-backed travel tech platform OYO has revealed that it received more than 310,000 bookings over the last festive weekend (Navratri, Durga Puja, and Ashtami). It was the company’s most considerable bookings so far in 2022, surpassing weekend bookings for peak travel days like Republic Day, Holi, and Valentine’s Day. This weekend also reached total bookings for the New Year’s weekend, which is usually the most booked weekend in the travel industry.

OYO also observed a 134 per cent increase in weekend versus weekday bookings over the festive weekend in 2022 compared to 111 per cent in 2019, suggesting more travellers are out on weekends. This travel growth can be attributed to pent-up travel demand and increased vaccination rates.

“Travel optimism across the country is at an all-time high,” said Shreerang Godbole, Senior Vice President, Product and Chief Service Officer, OYO. “As restrictions ease and air travel bans are lifted, travellers are looking forward to celebrating the festive season with their loved ones and spending time together. Summer break and make the most of their long weekend. The surge in holiday weekends is a testament to the travel boom ahead of us in 2022.”

OYO booking data for 8-10 April 2022 shows that leisure destinations such as Srinagar, Manali, Shirdi, Playa Graj, Chandigarh, Gwalior, and Ludhiana are among the top The fastest growth is on weekends. In addition, more than 200 OYO hotels have achieved 100 per cent occupancy.

According to Godbole, more than 300,000 travellers have chosen to stay at OYO across India. The company expects the upcoming Good Friday/Baisaki long weekend to be the highest since the 2020 pandemic. This summer will be the season for travel recovery before the pandemic.

“As people prepare to travel again, we remain committed to providing quality accommodation to meet the needs of every traveller,” said Godbole. OYO offers over 40 integrated products and solutions to customers operating over 157,000 hotel and home storefronts in over 35 countries, including India, Europe, and Southeast Asia. RateGain Travel Technologies, global travel, and hospitality SaaS provider, recently shared insights into the state of the travel and hospitality industry and the impact on travel demand in India’s two major cities, Delhi and Mumbai, as international travel resumes on March 27.

OYO received over 300,000 bookings for this year’s festive weekend of 8-10 April. This festive weekend is OYO’s highest bookings of any weekend in 2022, surpassing bookings for Republic Day, Holi, Valentine’s Day weekend, and New Year’s. Weekend bookings increased by almost 134 per cent per cent in 2022 compared to weekday bookings (celebrated as Navratri/Durga Puja/Ashtami across India), compared to a 111 per cent increase in 2019, indicating that more travellers are out on weekends.