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Oyo runs into real problems in Japan

3 points by chewz 7y ago

chewz 7y ago
> But Oyo’s technology wasn’t ready. In the first three months after launch, the hotel operation double-booked rooms because it had failed to integrate with local travel agencies, according to Oyo and former employees. Staff in India entered reservations made in Japanese manually, introducing errors. Some hotel owners found their rates reduced to just pennies by inscrutable algorithms. When they complained, the fix would take days because pricing was controlled in India, according to former employees. > At the same time, Oyo Life workers struggled to keep track of keys they received from landlords because of software created in India. One tenant interviewed by Bloomberg spent the night in his car outside of his new apartment because he was given a wrong code for a lock box containing the keys. Even though it was during working hours, no one was manning the help lines at the company, he said. Two other customers interviewed by Bloomberg also had trouble getting into their apartments. > “Oyo operated like they were driving a Ferrari, instead of a hatchback,” said Taito Ito, executive officer at Japan Accommodation and Lodging Foundation, a hotel industry group handling about a dozen complaints against the company from its members. “It’s difficult to see this business going anywhere in Japan.” [...] > many employees joined under temporary contracts through an outside recruiter with a plan of making them full time after six months. When that time came, Oyo tried to cut salaries for a number of them as much as 50 percent, according to former employees and copies of documents seen by Bloomberg News. > Alarmed by worker complaints, SoftBank sent its own compliance staff into Oyo for a weeklong internal audit, the people said. In the end, Agarwal’s management withdrew the low-ball offers and said the revisions were an administrative mistake. > Several former Oyo Life employees, [..] described a chaotic, disorganized work environment. The company poached executives from top-tier consulting and technology firms who excelled at inspirational talk but had little understanding of real estate and even less patience for the industry’s slow-moving ways, the people said. One of them said the real estate industry just doesn’t run on startup time. > In one instance, the company placed a ¥100 million ($910,000) furniture order with Japanese maker Takumi Otsuka, clinching the deal with a handshake. A month later, Oyo canceled even though the manufacturer had already set up a dedicated line and began production, according to staff from Oyo. > With so much energy focused on sales, customer service suffered. One Oyo Life tenant said he moved into his room to find bed sheets and covers, but no bed or mattress to put them on. After facing a prospect of sleeping on the floor for a week, he hauled over a futon from his parents’ house. > Yutaro Kondo, a 25-year-old entrepreneur, paid ¥86,000 for a 21-square-meter studio about an hour by train from central Tokyo. While a premium to similar listings, the contract covered internet access, all utilities and the last month free of rent. But he didn’t have heat for weeks so he moved out in December. Shortly after, he got a bill for the month that was supposed to be free.
- chewz 7y ago
  Interesting clash between total quality culture and pretend and cheat culture.

3 points by chewz 7y ago

> But Oyo’s technology wasn’t ready. In the first three months after launch, the hotel operation double-booked rooms because it had failed to integrate with local travel agencies, according to Oyo and former employees. Staff in India entered reservations made in Japanese manually, introducing errors. Some hotel owners found their rates reduced to just pennies by inscrutable algorithms. When they complained, the fix would take days because pricing was controlled in India, according to former employees. > At the same time, Oyo Life workers struggled to keep track of keys they received from landlords because of software created in India. One tenant interviewed by Bloomberg spent the night in his car outside of his new apartment because he was given a wrong code for a lock box containing the keys. Even though it was during working hours, no one was manning the help lines at the company, he said. Two other customers interviewed by Bloomberg also had trouble getting into their apartments. > “Oyo operated like they were driving a Ferrari, instead of a hatchback,” said Taito Ito, executive officer at Japan Accommodation and Lodging Foundation, a hotel industry group handling about a dozen complaints against the company from its members. “It’s difficult to see this business going anywhere in Japan.” [...] > many employees joined under temporary contracts through an outside recruiter with a plan of making them full time after six months. When that time came, Oyo tried to cut salaries for a number of them as much as 50 percent, according to former employees and copies of documents seen by Bloomberg News. > Alarmed by worker complaints, SoftBank sent its own compliance staff into Oyo for a weeklong internal audit, the people said. In the end, Agarwal’s management withdrew the low-ball offers and said the revisions were an administrative mistake. > Several former Oyo Life employees, [..] described a chaotic, disorganized work environment. The company poached executives from top-tier consulting and technology firms who excelled at inspirational talk but had little understanding of real estate and even less patience for the industry’s slow-moving ways, the people said. One of them said the real estate industry just doesn’t run on startup time. > In one instance, the company placed a ¥100 million ($910,000) furniture order with Japanese maker Takumi Otsuka, clinching the deal with a handshake. A month later, Oyo canceled even though the manufacturer had already set up a dedicated line and began production, according to staff from Oyo. > With so much energy focused on sales, customer service suffered. One Oyo Life tenant said he moved into his room to find bed sheets and covers, but no bed or mattress to put them on. After facing a prospect of sleeping on the floor for a week, he hauled over a futon from his parents’ house. > Yutaro Kondo, a 25-year-old entrepreneur, paid ¥86,000 for a 21-square-meter studio about an hour by train from central Tokyo. While a premium to similar listings, the contract covered internet access, all utilities and the last month free of rent. But he didn’t have heat for weeks so he moved out in December. Shortly after, he got a bill for the month that was supposed to be free.

chewz 7y ago
Interesting clash between total quality culture and pretend and cheat culture.