'Covid made holiday homes mainstream'

Saffron Stays, which operates in the holiday homes monetization sector with 290 properties on its listings platform, is planning to expand across the north and south India.

- Varuni Khosla

The company’s co-founder Devendra Parulekar said that there is a significant untapped market in India, with around 10,000 luxury holiday homes requiring effective inventory management solutions.

SaffronStays said it has seen a surge in demand for its top-tier properties, consistently maintaining 35-40% occupancy rates, or 120-150 days every year.

While it has so far focussed on Maharashtra, the company is planning to establish a stronger presence in Goa in the second half of this year.

“Anything above 40% occupancy is not healthy because it is then considered over utilization of an asset. We are comfortable with 30-40% since it is a home at the end of the day, and should not be fully commercialized," he added.