Private vacation: SaffronStays aims 600 homes on its platform by 2020, eyes international foray

The network of private vacation homes, SaffronStays is aiming to have 600 properties on its platform by 2020-end, as it plans international foray going forward, a top company official revealed. At present, the company has 100 villas across 40 destinations in India on its platform. SaffronStays Co-Founder Devendra Parulekar said, "We plan to have a total of 600 homes on our platform by the end of 2020. At our current growth rate, adding 500 homes don't look like a distant dream. This includes villas meant for couples, families, friends and large group outings." 

The company is planning to go global as its forward planning. Out of the 600 homes, the company said 500 homes will be in India and 100 from international markets. "We will follow the Indian traveller and go where he goes. For the time being, we are looking at exotic destinations like Bali, Sri Lanka, Dubai and London as our target locations and planning to expand in these countries within a span of two years," Parulekar said.

Similar to its present business model, the company is planning to have heritage homes, farmstays, luxury stays and villas ideal for large groups and events, he added. When asked about investment the company will be making for the expansion, he said: "We will invest in onboarding top quality private estates and vacation homes. Much of this investment will go towards hiring the right staff, training them, deploying the right technology to manage and operate these homes".

The investments will be made in building the brand and educating the market about the category that SaffronStays is creating - private vacation homes, he added.
Parulekar, however, did not give specific investment figures for the expansion.

The company is also looking for a funding round. It had earlier raised funds in a Pre-Series Round A from Sixth Sense Ventures. "We are looking at a raising a round of funds soon. We plan to raise USD 20-30 million over the next two years," Parulekar said. On the business model the company follows, he said: "We don't own these properties. We are a technology player in the business of hospitality and we only manage and staff the properties".

SaffronStays curates boutique homes and partner exclusively to manage the hospitality operations, branding, marketing and reservations, thereby helping home owners monetise their dead assets, Parulekar added.