As travellers increasingly seek privacy, exclusivity, and personalised experiences, luxury villa stays are fast emerging as a preferred alternative to traditional hotels. Ritwik Khare, Founder & CEO of Elivaas shares how they blend the comfort of private homes with the service standards of a five-star hotel.
By Sudipta Saha
Elivaas was found with a vision to offer travellers the warmth and privacy of a luxury villa without compromising on service, convenience, or hospitality. In this candid conversation, Ritwik shares the journey behind the brand, the role of technology, the future of luxury travel, and the philosophy that continues to drive Elivaas forward.
The inspiration behind Elivaas
Reflecting on the origins of Elivaas, Ritwik explains how a personal experience as a homeowner ultimately sparked the idea for a hospitality brand that bridges the gap between luxury hotels and private villas. Ritwik mentions, “The idea for Elivaas was born from a personal experience. In 2021, I purchased a home in Goa and, having previously served as COO at MakeMyTrip, I already had a strong understanding of the alternate accommodation and second-home market. However, owning a property in a different city gave me first-hand insight into the challenges homeowners’ face—from maintenance and monitoring to overall peace of mind. The need for a reliable solution became increasingly evident.”
He further adds, “At the same time, I began closely studying evolving traveller preferences. Post-pandemic, the demand for private villas and holiday homes grew significantly. Through conversations with travel agents and consumers, one recurring theme stood out: travellers loved the space, privacy, and flexibility of a home but were unwilling to compromise on the service standards of a five-star hotel. Bridging this gap and bringing together the best of both worlds became the inspiration behind Elivaas. Our vision is simple yet ambitious—to deliver the service excellence of a five-star hotel within the comfort and exclusivity of a private home. By combining exceptional homes, premium real estate, and world-class hospitality, Elivaas aims to redefine the luxury stay experience for modern travellers.”
Technology at the ‘Heart of Hospitality’
Technology is often cited as one of Elivaas’ biggest differentiators. Ritwik believes it is the foundation that enables the brand to deliver consistent hospitality standards across a rapidly expanding portfolio of luxury villas. “At Elivaas, we are essentially in the business of creating happiness and memories. When guests choose to spend a few days with us, our objective is simple—to ensure they return with experiences and memories they cherish long after the trip has ended. Technology plays a critical role in making that possible. Delivering five-star hospitality within a private four-bedroom villa is a complex challenge, particularly when you are operating across hundreds of locations. As we scale to thousands of villas across diverse destinations, technology becomes the backbone of operational excellence,” states Ritwik. On the same line, he says, “Our approach is centred around three key pillars—supply, operations, and demand. For homeowners, we have developed a proprietary app that offers complete visibility into their property, including maintenance updates, guest reviews, occupancy status, and operational activities. It gives homeowners peace of mind, regardless of where they are located.”
On the operations side, the caretaker is the most important stakeholder for them. Much like delivery partners define the customer experience in the food delivery industry, caretakers shape the guest experience in the villa segment. To support them, they have built a dedicated housekeeper app that streamlines training, attendance, task management, audits, and performance monitoring.
“For the demand side, we introduced India’s first AI-powered travel agent platform for alternate accommodation. The system enables travel partners to instantly identify the most suitable properties based on specific guest requirements, making the booking process far more efficient. Beyond this, we leverage AI-powered chatbots, automated verification systems, guest-support tools, and backend automation to enhance every stage of the customer journey. Technology today powers virtually every aspect of our ecosystem—from homeowners and housekeepers to travel partners and guests—and remains a key enabler of our growth strategy,” expresses Ritwik.
From one villa to over 700 properties
Despite being a relatively young brand, Elivaas has witnessed remarkable growth, expanding its footprint across some of India’s most sought-after leisure destinations. Ritwik highlights, “We are still a very young company, just two and a half years old, but our vision is ambitious. Our next milestone is to expand to 5,000 villas over the coming years. The foundation of our growth has been people, execution, and technology. Together, these create trust, which is critical in our business. Homeowners trust us with their properties because of our structured and technology-driven approach. Today, we work with over 1,600 travel agents, while more than 300 actively generate bookings every month. Equally important has been our focus on customer experience. With over 41,000 online reviews and 94 per cent five-star ratings, word-of-mouth continues to be one of our strongest growth drivers.”
Why the ‘Travel Trade’ matters
While many brands focus primarily on direct consumer engagement, Elivaas has consciously invested in building strong relationships with the travel trade, recognising the important role advisors play in shaping traveller decisions. Adding to it, Ritwik says, “This industry is built on expertise and trust. When travellers choose a villa over a five-star hotel, they often have questions around safety, hygiene, comfort, location, and service standards. Travel advisors play a crucial role in building that confidence. We recognised early on that partnering with travel agents would be instrumental in growing the category. Today, we have a dedicated 20-member B2B team covering the country and continue to invest significantly in travel trade relationships, education, and support. We believe trusted advisors will remain an integral part of the travel ecosystem for years to come.”
