During the pandemic, homeowners are monetizing their second homes – from weekend getaways to vacant homes – for vacationers looking for new, private and secure properties that offer panoramic views of nature
As Ashish Gupta surveyed the polished heritage furniture, carpets and books inside an empty hut on the side of a mountain, on a tea plantation in Kodaikanal, he realized its potential. The owners of the house were gone when COVID-19 struck and moved to the city to join the family. Ashish, a hospitality entrepreneur, is looking for properties – private residences and other homes that are vacant – to manage and promote, for a client who is desperate to break away from the restrictions of the pandemic.
With a 200-degree view of the Palani Hills, the lights of Salem, its antique chairs and tables, twin kitchens and vintage cooking ware, Skyfall opened in August 2020 and has been hosting guests ever since. Recently a Pune-based tycoon spent a month savoring its uniqueness.
Skyfall is one of the houses in Ashish’s inventory in LuxUnlocked, which he launched during the pandemic. Besides Maison 26 in Puducherry, one house at Skyfall, and Lovedale, Udhagamandalam, four other houses – amidst paddy fields at Mamallapuram; in the hills of Wayanad; By the Lake in Kodaikanal – set to open before the end of the year. Ashish and his wife Rucha have looked at “over 100 homes” to manage and foster guests in search of safe, private and open spaces to live and work.
Read more | India’s domestic travelers celebrating wellness holidays during COVID
“The opening up and opening of second homes, private luxury spaces as exclusive luxury stays is totally a COVID related event,” says Ashish.
A new place for homeowners
He classifies three types of homeowners in this new space.
“There are people who closed their secluded homes and moved to the city for better healthcare, owners who felt the pinch of time and needed to monetize their weekend home, and owners who saw it as a business opportunity. I saw.”
When the first wave of the pandemic subsided in June 2020, and a small window opened to allow travel, Manoj Kumar prepared to open his second home in Nileshwar near Kasaragod as a safe, secluded getaway Was. Puthali means water lilies have 110 guests over a long period of time (six to seven days) and 40 individual travelers since then.
A paddy-view luxury stay at Nileshwar in Puthali, Kasaragod, North Kerala
With sprawling paddy fields and a water body, a pristine beach a kilometer away, Putli became an attraction for the COVID weary youth of Bengaluru, Chennai and Hyderabad.
Manoj says, “In this time of restrictions, people are looking for an escape for themselves, a small manageable space for their family and friends.”
Anticipating a change in the way vacationers are in the near future, Kochi-based Aldo Kuruvilla is also working to relaunch Periyar River Lodge (PRL), a boutique property in the forests of Thattekad, a bird sanctuary. The hospitality entrepreneur says, “There has been a general shift towards the whole approach to hospitality. People are looking for isolated, very private, luxury properties to stay away from COVID fatigue,” he added, adding an infinity pool, open veranda, strong Wi-Fi, PRL to give extra outdoor and “two rooms . The villa will be single, for one family only.”
In 2018, he launched the concept under One Earth Properties, sensing a gap in the market, realizing that the pandemic would bring this model to center stage. His four-room Panangad 976, on the backwaters in Kochi, is facing a flurry of reservations after the lockdown is lifted.
A Desi Model, In Demand
Pre-Vacant Post COVID Trends Inderpal Singh Kochhar, who successfully runs Laxman Sagar, an offbeat boutique property between Jaipur and Jodhpur, is looking for niche properties in new destinations like Ladakh and Andaman to meet the surge in demand .
Inder points to Europe as an example where there is an abundance of private residences, country houses, serviced concepts, chalets, villas, luxury homes, which provide safe, beautiful and very unique experiences. “There is a shortfall in the supply of this category in India and this is the reason why Indians were holidaying abroad. The hospitality model is now starting to realize this thanks to the pandemic,” he says.
Of the COVID-19 fallout, he says, “We are with all the restrictions. Even in a hotel one has to sit wearing a mask. Here you are masked and can walk around in your dressing gown in a private place. “
He is now focusing on building a “circuit of fully serviced private homes”.
money Talks
Inder talks about two things in this developing market; One is the homogenization of decor, aesthetics, architecture, menu and art work, which makes every hotel room and space alike, and the other is about the price sensitive market.
“There is high end luxury space and there is also private budget category. We need to look at options in India in the budget category as well. Hospitality stakeholder says, “The holiday trend is going to be the concept of private residence. High net worth families who used to travel abroad and are unable to do so, now want to experience luxury here in India.”
Sejo Jose, CEO and founder of Moksha, a concept that manages luxury stays, says they found an average 75% occupancy of these properties after the lockdown. “We have not sold rooms for only two to three days in the month of July, 2021 and that too because of maintenance.”
Unmatched Luxury Villas in Panagarh near Kochi
Sejo says the experience isn’t cheap and ranges from ₹15,000 to ₹55,000 per day, excluding breakfast and taxes. “But the client, having lived at home for almost two years, is ready to pay,” he says.
“With the pandemic there was an unusual interest in smaller properties like ours,” says Biju George, a Dubai-based businessman whose Bemas Lake House, near Kochi, was booked by a Mumbai-based businessman who worked out of it for a month Was. With two pool villas and a main house, guests book the entire property and are looked after by a team of trained staff. A chef trained in global cuisine is attached to the property.
Read more | Socials for the Soul: A Peak in a New Age Wellness Retreat
“We didn’t even think about COVID,” says Priya Madhav, who vacationed with her group of female friends at Vismaya in Cherthala, near Kochi. The exclusive retreat, with its two rooms, gardens, waterfront, was the perfect escape for these stressful times, she said.
ahead of the curve
Giles Knapton, who pioneered the concept of private homes in Goa 10 years ago, moved away from the city in 2018 to start Coco Shambala in Sindhudurg. Through the “up and down” of the pandemic, with lockdowns and reopenings, they have seen a 100% increase in revenue.
Tuning developers in trends
- Capitalizing on the trend and the current situation, Puneet Agarwal, CEO, Nirvana Realty, is an opportune time for people to invest in holiday homes. He adds, “Stopping is more than just a COVID-19 trend. Domestic leisure and travel is set to boom in the coming years as people do not yet find it safe to fly abroad. The hospitality sector is designing the stay experience based on the work from home model. This is the opportune time for any aspiring buyer to consider the option of weekend homes, owning a vacation home and earning a passive revenue – you get the optimum benefit of staying and save money as well. “
Although Giles kept all communication lines open with his larger clients, during the fallout period, informing them with ‘newsletters’ about how his 70s team at the two properties was progressing, he found the separation of his client exclusives. I was longing to return. Live.
Giles says the pandemic has changed people’s personal lifestyles and this will reflect on the way they celebrate the holiday. He is currently working on holiday homes around nature and wellbeing, which is the perfect pandemic antidote.
Sejo says, “For those who have built luxurious holiday homes or have invested in luxury apartments, the biggest challenge is the maintenance of the property. Though they want to monetize these properties, but they need to get homes, (expensive paintings, artworks). , carpets) and employees. Owners of service apartments find it difficult to get clients. Those living abroad find it difficult to update the statutory requirements of buildings and pay hefty fines.”
.