OYO and its European business of OYO Vacation Homes (OVH) has today announced that Martin HP Söderström, the chairman of DIG Investments, has joined the company’s Board in the region as a Non-executive Director.

OYO Vacation Homes offers fully managed, private homes across Europe in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Nordic & Southern European countries under ​multiple brands, including ​Belvilla, DanCenter, Danland​, Traum-Ferienwohnungen, and the recently acquired, TUI Ferienhaus​ from e-domizil GmbH. It has over 50,000 homeowners, 140,000 homes in 70 countries worldwide and 2.8 million guests ​annually.

As a member of the Board, Martin Söderström will work closely with the management team of OYO to drive growth in the company. He will also be buying shares worth an undisclosed amount in the parent company.

With a strong background in banking, specifically corporate finance advisory and strategic M&As, and deep expertise in the private banking and family office market, Martin Söderström is Chairman of DIG Investment, a private investment office focused on direct investments in the global alternatives market, which he founded in 2011. Its primary area of investments are in tech-related companies in the growth to Pre-IPO phase. Today, DIG Investment has a portfolio in Asia, Europe and the US within consumer brands, shared economies, retail, hospitality. 

Martin Söderström is also the Chairman & Founder of HMP (private office), HH&P Executive Search (HR/ Recruitment), and HM Philip (Advisory Boutique). He is also the Founding Member of Brilliant Minds (a Symposium held in Stockholm) and DJURSHOLM Country Club (a Family Members Club in Stockholm). He is also on the Board of Ocean Outdoor (Digital out of home), Randviken (real estate), and Grundens (Commercial & Sportfishing apparel). He is also a Senior Advisor at Polar Structure (Infrastructure in the Nordics), and supports and guides a large group of Swedish and International single-family offices.

For OYO, its customers and homeowners in the EU region, especially in the Nordics, hold immense strategic importance. Given Martin’s deep understanding of the region and strong business acumen, I am elated to welcome him as an investor and a fellow Board member at OYO Europe. He has a proven track record of investing and growing tech-focused businesses in India and globally with immense knowledge about the Asian and global entrepreneurial and investment ecosystem. We are positive that his deep experience in M&As and working with high-growth companies will add a lot of value to our growth journey in Europe, both organic and inorganic, and support us in our long-term goal of an IPO.

Today, OYO’s Vacation Home business in Europe is leading OYO’s road to recovery, given customers’ trust and continued preference for small and independent boutique homes and hotels over large five-star properties. I see this trend of small hotels and vacation homes leading a structural change in the industry, and I believe ‘small is the new big’. We are already seeing this in action in the form of healthy booking, occupancies and revenue trends.

Ritesh Agarwal, Founder & Group CEO, OYO Hotels & Homes.

The company had earlier appointed Troy Alstead, former COO Starbucks, Gerardo Issac (Gerry) Lopez, Operating Partner at SoftBank Vision Fund, Betsy Atkins, CEO & Founder of Baja Corporation and Dr W. Steve Albrecht as the members of OYO’s Global Board.