The Indian Hotels Company is expanding its Amã Stays & Trails homestay portfolio across India.
The brand has a portfolio of 24 bungalows and villas with eight under development.
The flag will soon launch new bungalows in locations across Trivandrum, Kodaikanal, Goa, Coonoor and Uttarakhand.
Prabhat Verma, EVP, operations, said: ”Amã Stays & Trails is India’s first branded homestay product. The premium homestay market in India is witnessing a steady growth as travellers are looking for more exclusive, unique, and immersive experiences. Amã Stays & Trails gives families and groups of friends an opportunity to bond together in these beautiful private bungalows and villas in off-beat locations.”
Puneet Chhatwal, MD & CEO, told us at the time of the launch: “It happened as a result of the group chairman’s three S strategy: scaling, simplifying and synergising. Because of their heritage, a lot of Tata Group companies have collected guest houses and homestays over the last 100 years; Tata Coffee in the coffee plantations, Tata Tea in the tea gardens. They are very British, in the Colonial style which a lot of people love.
“People are seeking a different kind of experience, they don’t want to be in a cookie-cutter hotel, they want to go to a spice plantation or somewhere else a little bit different. There is a an emerging trend, although it has always been there, for people to travel together; three families might book a bungalow instead of three families going and booking a hotel room. We didn’t have to invest, we had these properties available. We can add our operational expertise as well as sales & distribution and branding & marketing and we think this will help optimise the sales and profitability of the business. We’re not adding staff, we’re not adding cost. It’s optimising the structure we have and utilising it to a higher extent. It is good for our loyalty club, it’s something fun for our leisure customers, an alternative to a resort in Goa or Kerala, somewhere people can bring other families with them on their points and have a different kind of experience.”