India-based OYO to help safety of Saudi Arabia’s labor housing

Saudi Arabian government has selected India-based vacation rental online marketplace company OYO Hotels & Homes, to help housing for laborers across the Kingdom to comply with new health and safety standards.

The appointment, made by the Ministry of Municipality, Rural Affairs and Housing (MMRAH), will be effective immediately, OYO officials said.

It follows the approval of new guidelines issued last month requiring businesses operating in Saudi Arabia to have licenses tied to strict technical, health, and safety rules when facilitating group housing for individuals.

OYO officials stated that it will use Krypton, the company’s in-house mobile-based audit application, to ensure the dormitories across the Kingdom comply with the standards.

“The collaboration with OYO marked a significant milestone to raise overall standards and position Saudi Arabia as the center of business and innovation for the Middle East. Under the Saudi Vision 2030 transformational plan, collaboration with organizations like OYO is crucial to change how the government operates. A key aspect of this is to change the role of the government from an implementer to a regulator and encourage more private sector involvement in the innovation of the kingdom.”

This appointment is another major leap in the progress the company has made in the Kingdom, according to Bader Saidan, head of Saudi Arabia at OYO.

OYO said it has appointed qualified professionals to perform the audits based on guidance from the municipality.

“With Krypton, we are now able to innovate the entire process and work with MMRAH and other businesses in the Kingdom to bring OYO’s standard of quality living spaces to dormitories across Saudi Arabia,” commented Mr. Saidan.

OYO was earlier appointed to audit over 500,000 properties used by pilgrims by the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah. Currently, OYO Hotels and Homes have over 18,000 rooms in approximately 200 hotels across 22 cities and provinces in Saudi Arabia.