StayVista looks to acquire other businesses, expand into resorts and events

A villa that earns money only on weekends leaves much of its potential untapped. Eleven-year-old StayVista, the holiday-home operator backed by JSW Ventures, DSG Consumer Partners and the Capri Global family office, wants to change that.

The company is looking to acquire other profitable alternative accommodation businesses and expand into resorts, weddings and corporate events to triple revenue.

The company’s target: ₹1,000 crore in revenue over the next four years, said Amit Damani, the company’s co-founder. Sales are expected to reach ₹340 crore in FY27, almost doubling from FY25, with acquisitions on the table as it looks to build a larger leisure hospitality brand.

The strategy marks a shift from relying largely on bookings for entire villas to finding more ways to use the properties through the week. Damani said the company has started managing resorts that can sell rooms individually, rather than requiring guests to book an entire property, and plans to manage more than 25 resorts over the next six months. Competitor Elivaas has also begun to do the same.

“The resort business, which contributed a small share of revenue in its first year, is expected to account for 25% of the company’s business over the next three years,” Damani told Mint.

Selling rooms individually can help address a key challenge in the holiday-home business: low weekday occupancy. While it can be difficult to secure a group booking for an entire villa during the week, offering individual rooms can attract couples and smaller groups, improving utilization, Damani said.

StayVista manages about 1,500 properties with 6,000 rooms across the country. Maharashtra accounts for roughly 40% of its portfolio, while the northern markets contribute about 30%. The company is adding properties in leisure and pilgrimage destinations as well as wildlife markets including Varanasi, Kabini and Jim Corbett National Park.

Leisure travel

Occupancy across its portfolio typically ranges from 35% to 40%. Unlike hotels that can draw corporate meetings and conferences during the week, holiday homes remain largely dependent on leisure travel. Discounting alone has not proved enough to persuade travellers to change plans, making events and alternative uses of properties more important.

“We are looking at the acquisition route, particularly of hospitality management companies with profitable operations and scope to grow. Globally too, this is how many such businesses have achieved scale,” Damani said.

It is looking at businesses that could strengthen its presence in existing markets or help it enter new ones, rather than pursuing growth at any cost. About a year ago, the company was evaluating the acquisition of competitor SaffronStays but the plan did not go through. Both players are strong in Maharashtra.

Elivaas reported revenue of ₹45 crore in FY25 and ₹110 crore in FY26. StayVista’s revenue rose to ₹180 crore in FY25 from ₹140 crore in FY24, according to ministry of corporate affairs data accessed via business intelligence platform Tofler. It reported a net profit of ₹3.6 crore in FY25, compared with a net loss of ₹8.3 crore a year earlier.

The country’s alternative accommodation market is growing alongside the hotel business. According to a recent study by Booking.com India and consultancy Videc, the number of villas and holiday apartments crossed 200,000 in FY26, growing 26% from a year earlier.

Online bookings for such accommodation are projected to reach ₹18,660 crore by FY29 from ₹9,340 crore in FY26. These listings are not directly comparable with hotel rooms since they include both individual rooms and entire homes, but they represent a growing source of accommodation for travellers.

Hotel capacity

Hotel companies are adding capacity as well. India had more than 213,000 branded hotel rooms as of February, with 153,000 in the pipeline till 2030, as per consultancy HVS Anarock. For holiday-home operators, the challenge is to build reliably managed alternative accommodation in a market where new properties continue to enter popular destinations.

“StayVista is also trying to generate more revenue from each property by tapping demand for intimate weddings, milestone celebrations and corporate gatherings. Weddings have emerged as a promising category, with some bookings lasting several days and generating revenue beyond accommodation,” Damani added.

Demand is strongest for properties within driving distance of major cities, where 40-50 guests can be hosted. StayVista now has an events team that sells its weddings business and requires customers to use its approved vendors.

For some properties, events can contribute more revenue than room bookings. Larger villas with eight to 10 rooms are attractive because groups are more likely to order meals and other services at the property rather than make arrangements outside.

In such properties, additional services can account for more than 40% of revenue, compared with about 15% across the broader portfolio.