OYO ramps up presence in Varanasi to serve travellers attending Dev Deepavali celebrations

This festival, celebrated annually in Varanasi on the 15th day following Diwali, is being observed this year on Nov 14th.

OYO launched operations in Varanasi in April 2015 and has steadily built its network in the city.

From 750 rooms in 40 hotels last year, OYO currently offers 1800 rooms across 80 properties in the city.

OYO’s standardised hotel rooms witnessed quick adoption in Varanasi.

The most popular tariff range is Rs. 1000 - Rs. 1600.

Top-selling properties include Hotel Broadway, Hotel Garden Inn, Pallavi Heritage International and Hotel Regency. OYO has a distributed network across the city with special focus on the popular areas.

A large proportion of rooms are located in Godowlia Ghat and the temple area, close to the Vishwanath Temple. 20 hotels have been newly on-boarded for Dev Deepavali, primarily in Godowlia and Cantonment areas.

Elaborating on the festival’s significance, Shubham Bahal, Head, Lucknow Hub, OYO said: “Dev Deepavali is a unique and cherished festival of Varanasi, celebrated in the belief that the Gods descend to Earth to celebrate Diwali. The Maha Aarti held at Dashashwamedh Ghat is a big attraction and all ghats around the Ganga are thronged by pilgrims. Thousands of domestic and international tourists flock to Varansi to witness this magnificent spectacle. Finding reliable and affordable accommodation in such peak tourist season can be a major challenge. Therefore we have onboarded new accommodation to ensure high-quality and affordable stay-options are available on a short notice.”

Key markets for domestic tourists to Varanasi include Kolkata, Delhi, Tamil Nadu and Mumbai.