SaffronStays, the luxury villa and homestay operator, plans to scale its presence in South India to 200 homes over the next two years from around 25 currently, as it expands across Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad and weekend-drive destinations around these cities.
The company, which operates around 500 villas across India, is targeting an overall portfolio of about 900 homes as it expands beyond its core markets of Mumbai and Pune. Co-founder Devendra Parulekar said South India would be the company’s biggest expansion bet over the next two years.
“Our massive expansion, our maximum bet is happening in South India. It is happening in Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, all of these markets and the driving destinations from each of those,” Parulekar said.
SaffronStays has historically built clusters around Mumbai and Pune, with about 300 of its 500 villas located within a three-to-four-hour driving distance of the two cities. It has around 75 villas in the north, 30 in the south, 25 in Goa and another 25 in Rajasthan.
The company is seeing strong growth in demand. It sold 71,000 room nights in the first half of 2026, compared with 45,000 in the corresponding period last year. Parulekar said the company could sell at least 150,000 room nights for the full year if the second half tracks the first half.
“Our repeat flywheel is growing at 50 per cent year on year. That’s the real reason why I’m here. Have you seen me market all over the place? No. You don’t see me marketing anywhere,” he said.
The company spends less than 3 per cent of its business on advertising and generates about 75 per cent of its business through its own channels, including its website, mobile app and call centre, according to Parulekar. The remaining 25 per cent comes through online travel platforms.
Parulekar said SaffronStays is also looking to increase revenue from ancillary services. Food and beverage currently contributes around 20 per cent of its business, while the company plans to monetise its concierge and celebration services and target another 10 per cent of revenue from the segment.
“This year, one of the initiatives is actually to monetise the entire concierge in the celebration service. And we have put ourselves a target saying that let’s get to a 10 per cent of our revenues coming from that,” he said.
The company is also targeting improved profitability. Parulekar said SaffronStays expects to touch ₹150 crore in revenue this year with a 3 per cent EBITDA margin, followed by a 6 per cent margin next year and 9 per cent thereafter.
“We don’t need capital because we are firstly a profitable business. So profitability, we have our own accruals. We have our own cash flows,” he said.
Unlike conventional hospitality and travel businesses, SaffronStays is focused on short weekend getaways, with its properties typically located within two to four hours of a large city. Parulekar said the company does not currently plan international expansion or a move into remote destinations, as its model depends on building sufficient density around its core urban markets.
“I am not a holiday product, I am a weekend getaway product,” he said. “I am interested in driving distances of 2 to 4 hours.”
The company is also open to inorganic opportunities, although Parulekar said it is not evaluating any acquisition at present.
Published on September 19, 2026
