Offering guests comfortable private homes, villas, apartments, EKOSTAY pop up as the ideal homestay to make the stay as rejuvenating and immersive as the destination itself.
Co-Founder & CEO of EKO STAY, Varun Arora co-founded EKO STAY with 3 other partners in 2018, beginning his journey as an entrepreneur. Operating through Lonavala/Khandala, Goa, Alibaug, Mahableshwar/Panchgani, Karjat, Nashik, and Igatpuri, they have in-house professionals, to provide their customers a hassle-free staycation.
Here’s PeakLife in an exclusive conversation with this stupendous entrepreneur sharing his experiences and beyond.
What was the whole idea behind EKO STAY and how did the idea for your business come about?
A. Well, we were quick enough to realise the gap between potential vacationers willing to book a private villa over a hotel as it was comparatively more economical as well as more private (safe). We also realised the fairly decent side income it could make homeowners along with them getting someone to maintain the property too which was an added benefit for them. And knowing they were only individual players selling to the masses we saw the perfect opportunity to create a brand to cater to them & that’s how EKO STAY was incepted.
Ekostaywas finally launched as a hospitality firm specifically catering to the homestay audience for their holidays in touristy cities. We thrive in providing with hygienic, cozy, affordable as well as luxurious homestay options with private and common pools across cities like Lonavala/Khandala, Goa, Alibaug, Mahableshwar/Panchgani, Karjat, Nashik&Igatpuri.
Moreover, India is a landscape of incredible beauty. That’s no secret. We wanted to make neighborhood travel, conscious travel, weekend getaway, and the choice to go places in India more accessible. After a dark year, the sea-sun (season) to travel and explore local beauty is springing, we aimed to make Ekostay a happy and safe place for everyone sans the worries, mundane chores like dishwashing! At the price of a short stay, one can enjoy a long getaway.
How did you come up with the name for your company?
A. We were creating a brand that’s economical but couldn’t go with ECO STAY as that would probably give the public the wrong idea about the brand, making them think we’re an ECO-Friendly company which we try to aim to be but still are not 100 %. Hence we went with the ‘K.’ instead.
You have diverse experience in multiple fields, how do you see the role if the real estate sector post-pandemic?
A. To be honest the price correction that has happened post-pandemic in the real estate sector was long due. Previously a lot of developers were sitting on a lot of inventory as they were also being stringent with their ticket price but the pandemic took a major hit on them just like it did on other sectors.
They then readily downsized their ticket price and as we’re well aware a lot of inventory has managed to be sold in the post-pandemic era. In fact, a lot of schemes have been launched at competitive prices and due to the same people are willing to purchase more as even banks have started offering home loans below 10% interest which is a steal deal.
Could you tell us about the culture in your organisation and how did you establish it?
We have quite a dynamic culture in our organisation. What I mean by that is, although we are result-oriented we have a youth team with 90% of our employees under 40 years. This helps us keep us stay updated with the latest trends as well as an energetic environment is maintained at the firm. We tend to keep a fair balance of Learning-Enjoyment-Results & an Authoritative culture afloat at our firm.
Another key fact that keeps our work culture intact and positive is being the right leader for your team. One good definition of an effective leader is “a person who creates an inspiring vision of the future, motivates and inspires people to engage with that vision, manages the delivery of the vision and coaches, and builds a team so that it is more effective at achieving the vision. Being a good leader is not a cakewalk. One must possess effective leadership qualities that help one achieve higher goals and objectives. I would define myself as an ‘honest leader’, honestly according to me is one of the most essential leadership qualities. Honesty is expected from leaders to garner trust and respect from people for reliability.
What was the key factors to become an entrepreneur?
Persistence is definitely the key to becoming an entrepreneur. Quite a few other factors to play a role in achieving our goals from being creative and risk bearing as well as patience and the ability for teamwork.
Moreover, in any industry competition constantly growing and being in the game longer than the new entrants gives us an edge over them as we’ve created a brand with a fairly good recall value over the years which they still need to. However, in spite of us taking pride in that brand name, I don’t ever take it for granted and continue thriving by changing the look of our existing properties once a year as well as expanding into new markets to increase our inventory more than the previous year.
If you had to suggest 5 must-read books during the pandemic, what would they be?
A. To be honest, I’m not much of a reader, but a couple of books that I’d suggest would be The School of Life, Jugaad, Dream The Impossible Dream & Harvard Business Review on Mergers & Acquisitions.
What key activities would you recommend entrepreneurs to invest their time in?
A. To definitely catch up on the latest techniques & tactics companies are adapting & experimenting with not just in India but worldwide too and to network with other entrepreneurs whether it be online or on a personal meet basis.
Any advice you would give for our budding entrepreneurs?
A. Always keep a Plan B handy, that’s something the pandemic taught me and I think it’s something I’d like others to follow as well, as clearly one thing the pandemic has taught us is that nothings certain in today’s world no matter how big your firm is.
