Home-like stays, world-class hospitality: RosaStays’ journey of excellence

After having worked with global Indian hotel chains in India for over two decades, she decided to embark on an entrepreneurial journey with something more purposeful, a concept that would be a game changer in the hospitality industry in India. “An as entrepreneur and as a person, I’m a great believer in Propose, People and Positivity as key success drivers in life. While studying the market, I found an opportunity in the management of second homes with many people struggling to convert them into revenue generating assets. This led to the genesis of RosaStays, ie Return on Smart Asset – Short term Accommodation. We partner with family owned enterprises to curate boutique lifestyle retreats that blend Eastern courtesies with Western efficiencies and assist owners with higher returns on investment,” shares founder Deepika Arora.

A key pillar in RosaStays ethos is Empower locals and Stay like locals, informs Arora, “where we give employment to locals as a give-back to society and we take this very seriously. The hospitality industry is constantly evolving, and ‘alternative accommodations’ is a fast growing segment which I believe will continue to dominate the landscape in the years to come.”

RosaStays Amer

Challenges en route

“One of the key challenges is to build larger acceptance for alternative accommodations’ segment in India. Travellers are still tentative about alternative accommodation offerings because they believe they will not get best-in-class stay or services, which is not true and hence the perception needs to change for wider acceptance and for more travellers to visit,” says Arora. 

The other key challenge (as a woman entrepreneur) remains, is of making a mark in an industry heavily dominated by men. “From the existence of the ‘Glass Ceiling’ to investors opting to give funding to businesses ‘led by men’, to simply finding talent ready to work with, there are always hurdles along the way. It is a constant effort to manage to overcome them by continuing to stay true to my goal and with the support of my team. Gender diversity in our part of the world exists mostly on paper!” she adds.

Disrupting traditional hospitality industry

Arora says she would not see RosaStays as a disruptor of the traditional hospitality industry but rather a leading player in the growing alternative accommodations segment in India, offering ‘traditional hospitality’ with a vision of ‘home-like’ stays that provide the warmth, amenities and comfort of community. “Our endeavour is curate ‘home-like’ stays - unique and beautiful boutique retreats, offering curated lifestyle experiences for travellers, be it in the city or any other popular tourist destinations, and we will continue to expand keeping the same approach in mind. We are already witnessing a lot of success with the concept and believe there is a strong potential in this segment,” she avers.

Unique aspects of RosaStays

“Our greatest differentiator is H.O.M.E., ie Hospitality that is Outstanding, Memorable and Enjoyable. We achieve this through our focus on the five senses at each touchpoint, driven by our core strength, our people. Each of the properties in the Rosastays portfolio has an aesthetic setting against breezy, lush, natural landscapes and offers a unique stay/ experience and most properties are conveniently located and are drive-able from the main cities and lend themselves to short weekend getaways, extended stays, and workcations. Subtle in styling, premium in appeal and unbounded in spirit, each Rosastays retreat has an aura of intimate luxury and promotes a lifestyle of leisure. Carefully chosen decor and accents bring to mind the comfort of a private residence and the nostalgia of a family home,” explains Arora.

RosaStays Grand Cliff Nusa Dua

In fact, in most properties, she shares, they like to go beyond customer expectations and have aesthetically modified them or selected properties with unique features for eg luxurious home-villa in Rosastays Amer, comes with a heated pool, and camouflaged from prying eyes. “The property has large lawns that can host events for up to 50-80 people. Similarly, our property in Gurugram is a modern property located in a shaded tree-lined residential street of the city, off NH 8. Built as an efficient, comfortable urban crash pad, it stands out with its communal lounge cum co-working space,” she says.

Sustainability and responsible tourism practices

Sustainability is inherent in the philosophy at RosaStays. “Our focus is to create and nurture shared values within locations and communities, through local employment generation, upskilling and sustainability initiatives. We have also encouraged use of re-furbished woodwork and furniture in some of our properties to ensure that we minimise wastage and also use items retaining their original value and beauty for eg in some of our vintage villas,” informs the RosaStays founder.

Role of technology in shaping guest experience

Technology is a key factor in a guest’s journey at RosaStays, starting from robust reservations systems to customer relationship management software and experience management. “As a brand that caters to ‘evolved travellers’, our boutique stays have successfully built and sustained a steady and repeat clientele base which has been aided by technology solutions. We also know that technology is important for our guests especially young travellers, many of whom are on work-vacations or love social media and like to post often. Therefore, all rooms in our properties are contemporary and have tech-enabled features such as wi-fi services, and related tech accessories, for our travellers to continue with their work / activity without any inconvenience,” says Arora.

Personalised and memorable stay 

To ensure a memorable and personalised experience for the guests walking in, Rosastays has handpicked industry experts to assist in the operations of hospitality assets. “We continue to raise the bar by achieving quality driven standards in all our properties. We have invested a significant amount of time and money in training and upskilling the staff to offer personalised, home-like experience to our guests,” shares Arora adding each RosaStay property is not just about homely and comfortable accommodation, but also about fostering a connection with the essence of each location. Ghar jaisa khana, serving water in traditional kaans glasses, soaked badaams when guests wake up or haldi milk for a peaceful sleep are part of the Rosastays personalised experience. 

RosaStays Pushkar

Fostering a sense of community among guests and hosts

“We create an awareness and sense of belonging at our properties through our team members and experiences, giving the guests an opportunity to understand and appreciate the local community, culture and cuisine. All the units of RosaStays have trained and employed locals. We rely heavily on what the community has to offer in terms of manpower and their local learnings. And then train and adapt to curate it as part of our guest experience,” she informs.

Future growth and expansion

RosaStays founder shares that they are poised to be India’s leading alternative accommodation brand, and will continue to strengthen their position in the boutique stay segment with a portfolio strength of 20-plus properties by the end of the year, across destinations. “We presently have a geographical presence of 15 properties with approximately 300 rooms across five states in India. In addition to domestic presence, we have a meticulously curated global portfolio of close to 300 homes under our ‘International Partner Homes’ presence. I envision a growth in our portfolio over the next few years to further consolidate our presence across key destinations in India and also expand to neighbouring regions. We are exploring destinations like Goa, Kasauli, Dharampur and Gurugram,” she concludes.