Oravel Stays, the India-based company behind travel technology provider OYO, will acquire G6 Hospitality — parent company of the Motel 6 and Studio 6 brands — from Blackstone Real Estate for $525 million, Blackstone announced Friday. The all-cash transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2024.
The move will expand OYO’s presence in the U.S., where it launched in 2019 and now operates more than 320 hotels. With the buy, OYO will leverage its technology, global distribution network and marketing expertise to “further strengthen the Motel 6 and Studio 6 brands and drive continued financial growth,” according to Blackstone.
The 1962-founded Motel 6 and extended stay brand Studio 6, which was launched in 1999, now boast nearly 1,500 properties open across the U.S. and Canada, according to Blackstone. Motel 6’s franchise network produces gross room revenues of $1.7 billion — a “strong fee base and cash flow” for G6, according to the announcement.
In a statement, CEO of OYO International Gautam Swaroop said the acquisition is “a significant milestone for a startup company like us to strengthen our international presence.” G6 will continue to operate as a separate entity, he added.
G6 Hospitality President and CEO Julie Arrowsmith said the OYO buy will “allow us to enhance our offerings and great value to our guests while maintaining the iconic Motel 6 brand that travelers have trusted for over six decades.”
In May, OYO announced plans to add more than 250 hotels across the U.S. this year to markets including Boston; Las Vegas; Orlando, Florida; and San Francisco, San Jose and San Diego, California.
“The eventual objective is to ensure that every 1 in 10 hotels in the US can proudly associate itself with the OYO brand,” the company’s head of business development, Nikhil Hed, said in a statement at the time.
Blackstone previously acquired G6 Hospitality from Accor in 2012 as part of a $1.9 billion deal.
An OYO spokesperson declined to add further comment.
