Sangeeta's Internship Experience at OYO Rooms

About Sangeeta Sharma:

I've done my Bachelor’s in computer science and engineering from Sapthagiri College of Engineering, Bangalore. I was a Microsoft Student Partner in my college, which gave me a brief exposure to things to expect when you are in the corporate world. Currently, I am pursuing MBA (Finance core) from Symbiosis Institute of Management Studies. I was a Junior coordinator for Academic Cell at SIMS Pune. In addition to these, you may find me drawing, listening to Punjabi songs, or talking to anybody or everybody at the college.

About the Internship

• Company - OYO Rooms
• Industry - Hospitality
• Role - Finance Intern
• Location - Pune
• Duration - 2 Months

How was your overall experience?

The duration of the internship was 2 months. Initial 2 weeks involved business development and to know the hospitality sector and how it functions by visiting OYO and Non-OYO properties. Later, we tried our hands on reconciliation for another 2 weeks and then the project for analysis for maximizing the take rate. The last 2 weeks of internship involved meeting OYO clients (property owners) and negotiating to increase the take rate. Though the applicability of the theory in practice was less. The internship was a different experience overall.

How was the selection process conducted? 

The selection process involved direct interview round where the questions varied from basic HR, mathematics, excel and technical related to the specialization.

What was your project and how did you execute it?

My project was “Take Rate Optimization of OYO revenue gathering portfolios”. It was primarily focused to reduce the MG losses and to provide suggestions to increase the TR (take rate) for the existing OYO properties. To incur more profits and reduce losses obtained from the bad deals or the underperforming properties from the portfolio.”

How was the work culture at OYO Rooms?

The work culture is similar to what you expect in a start-up. There is a flat hierarchy in the organization!

What were the key challenges that you faced during your internship?

The key challenge was to negotiate with existing clients to increase the take rate. It’s hard to deal with them when there are more grievances than the resolution.

What were the key learnings of your internship?

It was great learning, from how to deal with clients and manage multiple meetings in a day.

Any memorable moments from the internship?

Missed the team outing because of an arm injury. 😌

Any tips you would like to share with our juniors?

If you are looking forward to have a core finance role, then do ask about the project you’ll be getting beforewards (at least a slight idea would be better to go or not go for it). Regarding the development of your interpersonal skill, it’ll help you a lot.

For any other queries, you can reach out to Sangeeta @Linkedin