Indian budget hotel chain OYO Rooms made its Nepal debut on Tuesday by partnering with the Hotel Prince Plaza at Gyaneshwor. OYO is also the first global budget hotel chain to enter the Himalayan republic.

Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Bimalendra Nidhi and Indian Ambassador to Nepal Manjeev Singh Puri jointly presided over the inauguration ceremony.

OYO Rooms will book the Hotel Prince Plaza’s inventory, holding it captive for Oyo customers. Each room is equipped with free wi-fi, flat screen TV, white bed linen, and branded toiletries. Guests get free breakfast. OYO’s budget stays start from IRs999.

“The room rates vary on supply and demand,” said Youb Raj Shrestha, managing director of the Hotel Prince Plaza. “The hotel is basically targeted at middle income Indian tourists visiting Nepal.” The standards are audited every few days so that every customer is assured a quality experience. Launched in 2013 with one hotel, OYO’s network has grown to 7,000 hotels in 200 cities in India. It has also extended operations to Malaysia. “Our network has witnessed robust growth to become the largest in India. Today, we are South Asia’s largest hospitality company,” said Ritesh Agarwal, founder & CEO at OYO Rooms. “Ten million customers are registered with us.”

He said that OYO had targeted bringing at least 100 hotels across three locations in Nepal within a year. “We are now thrilled to offer OYO’s hassle-free and standardized stay experience to travellers visiting Nepal.”

Ambassador Puri said that the OYO model had been designed to cater to the middle class. “The rich always have the option,” he said. In terms of comfort, space and pleasing, OYO offers what two and three star hotels have been providing. “In fact, this concept has cut travel costs which can be spent in other areas.”

OYO’s hotel-booking app is among the fastest in the world, enabling guests to search and book a room in less than five seconds with just three taps.

Foreign tourist arrivals to Nepal jumped 39.71 percent to 753,002 in 2016. Among them, 118,249 were Indians. Indian arrivals to Nepal surged 57.40 percent last year after slumping due to the 2015 earthquakes. 

According to a new Google India report, globally, Nepal witnessed high growth on tourism related queries. The report said that tourism related inquiries for Nepal grew by 64.8 percent. The findings of the report are based on searches conducted by Indians between February and April 2017.