Ex-Business Head of NoBroker launches India’s first Holiday Home fractional ownership platform ALYF and has raised $1.5 million seed capital

Ex-Business Head of NoBroker launches India’s first Holiday Home fractional ownership platform ALYF and has raised $1.5 million seed capitalMumbai, Sept 21, 2022ALYF, India’s first technology-enabled marketplace that makes holiday home ownership accessible, enjoyable, and hassle-free has announced fundraising of $1.5 million (INR 11.25 Crores) seed capital led by 9Unicorns and Venture Catalysts. The start-up will use the funds for business expansion, brand marketing and enhancing technology to democratize the space.

Founded in June 2022 by Saurabh Vohara, the Ex-Business Head of NoBroker, along with Karan Chandiok, Co-Founder & COO, ALYF is backed by successful start-up Founders such as Saurabh Garg, Amit Agarwal, Akhil Gupta, (Founders of NoBroker.com); Kunal Shah (Founder of CRED); Arjun Vaidya (Dr. Vaidya’s); Dr.Ritesh Malik (Innov8); Pravin Agarwal (Better Place), Mitesh Shah (Credence family office) and industry veterans like Juggy Marwaha, Vivek Chandy, Pradeep Lala, Viren Miskita, Apurva Salarpuria and many more.

Holiday home ownership has conventionally attracted HNIs and has been a far-fetched dream for most people. Due to its high-ticket size, less usage and property management expenses, the aspirational middle class has traditionally not found it lucrative for self-consumption or from an investment point of view. Unorganized platforms and difficulty in selling them later have also been significant concerns while investing in holiday homes.

ALYF has devised a platform that caters to everyone’s requirements and helps one fulfill their dream, their benefits are broken down into 3 stages.

Entry: ALYF addresses this problem through their unique Smart Ownership model, where a property can be owned individually or by a maximum of 8 Smart-Owners (12.5% each). Each Smart Owner gets 44 days for self use and they have the option to rent out the unused days in case not able to consume the same. The brand ensures the properties are curated through various parameters, including the best-negotiated price, extensive legal & due diligence, best-in-class architecture and bespoke interiors. One can also opt for Zero maintenance offer of ALYF.

Usage & Management: Smart-Owning an ALYF home doesn’t just mean – staying in an impeccably-styled home away from home, one can enjoy the benefits of owning a holiday home without the hassle of managing one. ALYF offers end-to-end property management solutions to ensure that every aspect of your home is maintained and managed and also provides you with intuitive services through the 24*7 concierge team, so all you have to do is show up and relax.

Exit: If the Smart-Owner feels the need to sell their shareholding, they can return to the platform, and ALYF will help them with an easy exit by finding relevant buyers.

“The pandemic was an eye-opener for all of us. Confined to our city homes with little space to thrive, most of us wished we had a holiday home. Some need a quiet place to work, and some need enough space for their children to run and family members to coexist while creating memories. Our research shows that 78% of individuals earning upwards of INR 30 Lacs annually aspire to own a holiday home. As per our estimates, the current market size in India is $3 billion and has the potential to grow to $15 Billion in the next three years, if the hassles around ownership and management can be addressed smartly.

The average Occupancy of Holiday Homes in India is close to 10% from which an average owner uses his home for less than 40 days in a year. With a model like this, we intend to take the overall occupancy rate close to 40% which is a Win-Win for all and will optimize the utilization of the real estate asset.

We want to empower everyone to own their holiday homes. Through our innovatively designed business model, we have tried solving the problems associated with owning a holiday home. Including the ticket size, you can now legally own a holiday home starting at INR 25 lakhs in the best holiday destinations.” said Saurabh Vohara, Founder and CEO of ALYF.

“The innovative solution provided by ALYF in efforts to make a simple dream come true for many Indians is novel in intent, but also disruptive in the real estate market. Fractional ownership of holiday homes and a time-bound system of residency are unique ideas that stand to provide a simple, cooperative, and accessible means for people to enjoy the luxury of owning a holiday home. It excites us to join ALYF in this creative venture and we look forward to the journey ahead.” said Anuj Golecha, Co-founder, of Venture Catalysts.

“I think a model like this will revolutionize how we as Indians buy holiday homes. There is a huge latent need for this but there are barriers like ticket size and property management which is exactly what ALYF is trying to solve for. I’ve closely worked with Saurabh Vohara at NoBroker and have seen his ability to scale up businesses. Very excited to see the heights ALYF achieves in the next few years.” said Saurabh Garg, Founder of NoBroker

ALYF already has a mandate of 10+ properties across Lonavala, Goa, and Alibaug, and the team is targeting sales of INR 100 CR in the next 12 months. Currently, they do not have any competition in India, but the validation of the concept comes from successful holiday home fractional ownership start-ups like Picasso in US and Kokomo in Mexico.