Privacy Breach? OYO Shares Live Check-in Records With State Govts, Law Authorities

Jaipur (Rajasthan)/New Delhi: Raising concerns over privacy, OYO Rooms – India’s one of the largest hospitality company – is set to share its customers’ details with various state governments and law enforcement authorities in order to give them “better information of guests staying at its hotels or visiting the state”.

The company – which claims to be the pioneer in India on this digitisation drive – is putting in place a digital record system to facilitate direct data sharing without the consent of its customers.

Hotel managers or receptionists of OYO properties are equipped with an app that captures guest details and photos and directly shares them with the authorities. At present, the new surveillance proposal has reportedly been accepted by the governments of Rajasthan, Haryana and Telangana.

An announcement in this regard was also recently made by OYO’s India and South Asia Chief Executive Officer Aditya Ghosh at an event organised by the CII in the national capital.

Before this announcement was made officially, this correspondent experienced such data facilitation when he checked into an OYO property at Jaipur along with a male video producer.

After furnishing all the details in the manual register, and after giving copies of valid identity cards, the two journalists were photographed. Finding this practice new, Newsclick questioned the reason behind the photography.

The receptionist first tried to dodge the question by replying, “It is OYO policy.” When he was cross-questioned, he revealed that all the information furnished by the guests is supplied to the local police concerned.

When raised the issue of breach of privacy that accompanies such a practice, the young man smiled, and politely said, “Sir, it’s our policy. We are just employees, and abide by the direction we get from the management.”

Read more: Citizens Being Forced To Give Sensitive Data To Private Bodies, Shyam Divan Tells SC

‘We Don’t Allow Inter-Religious Couple Because of Love-Jihad’

As the conversation turned friendlier, the bogey of ‘love jihad’ reared its ugly head, showing the notion of Hindu women being forcibly converted to Islam, and then allegedly radicalised through marriages to Muslim men is still entrenched in public imagination.

“Yes, we give rooms to couples but not to those who belong to different religions,” he said.

He explained, “Sir, police wale pareshan karte hain…love-jihad ke karan (Policemen harass us because of love jihad). Once a couple books a room online using OYO app, the digital information furnished by him or her directly goes to the state police. If they realise that the couple belongs to two different religions, especially Hindus and Muslims or Christians, they come to us and bombard a battery of questions.”  

This shows that despite several reassurances from the government and top police officials that such a phenomenon does not exist, it has done nothing to silence the vehement arguments put forth by many pro-Hindu groups that such an organised movement exists.

‘It’ll reduce the possibility of manipulating the hotel register’

The company says that such data facilitation will not only help the states monitor movements of visitors, but will also reduce the possibility of manipulating the hotel register, where entries are made manually. In effect, it will help the hotel streamline compliances efficiently.

The company has already put in place this digital register in Jaipur in Rajasthan, and pilot projects are being run in Haryana and Telangana.

The proposed digitisation of guest entry and departure records – according to the company – aims to provide a real-time update to the respective governments on who is checking in and checking out.

Consider this situation

If you are planning to check into an OYO hotel room with your girlfriend, especially if you are an inter-religious couple, don’t dare to go ahead even if both of you are adults as the local police may knock your door at any point of time.

Read more: The BJP’s New Surveillance Regime