Mahindra Holidays & Resorts plans to lease properties in the US instead of making outright purchases in the crowded time-share segment in North america.

Part of the $19-billion Mahindra Group, the 20-year-old company has already invested an undisclosed amount in acquiring Finnish company Holiday Club, and is now seeking to buy inventory in other overseas markets.

“We realise that there are too may time-share players present in the US. We would rather lease property instead of buying into a company in this market. If there is inventory, we are willing to buy, but not necessarily go in for acquisitions in the US,” said Kavinder Singh, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Mahindra Holidays & Resorts.

Time-share as a category accounts for less than 1 per cent of the hospitality industry in India unlike the US where it is at about 6 per cent.

In the past two years, the time-share major has been steadily increasing its stake in the Finland-based Holiday Club Resorts, which has an established position in the global vacation ownership category.

Holiday Club’s 32 resorts with 2,800 rooms in Finland, Sweden and Spain have got added to Mahindra Holdays’ 50 odd resorts in India.

Based on a subscription model, Mahindra Holidays has a about 218,000 members, with a mix of owned and leased properties split almost evenly between the domestic and international markets.

Last year, Mahindra invested in start ups like Gift XOXO, which offers travel experiences, to add value to its own offerings. Besides, it is partnering with international travel aggregators for cruises.

Mahindra Holidays is tapping the digital medium to access potential customers, instead of using petrol pumps, malls and cinema halls to sell its holidays.

The debt-free company has also allocated ₹600 crore towards building four resorts in the next two years in the domestic market.

Claiming little or no effect of events like demonetisation, Mahindra Holidays has recorded revenue growth of 43 per cent in FY17 compared to the previous year and is optimistic about the future of the time-share business.

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