Zocalo launches co-living platform for long stays

Zocalo, a brokerage-free listing platform for rentals and paying guest accommodation, will now provide co-living space for young working professionals.

The startup has launched CoHo Stayz, a tech platform that offers managed apartments and villas in the Delhi NCR region for long stays, said Uday Lakkar, Zocalo founder.

Pre-verified users who leverage the apartment/villas on the CoHo Stayz network would pay monthly rent of Rs 13,000- Rs 25,000 depending on the type of accommodation selected.

"We aim to bring in superior living experience to the millennials, by leveraging technology for seamless user interactions and property management," said Lakkar.

The co-living platform would operate on both inventory-based and managed marketplace model.

CoHo Villas (large residency spaces with 20-25 residents in a full-service model) and CoHo Flats (shared apartment format with 3-5 residents in a limited-service model) would be directly managed by Zocalo.

Here, the startup converts unfurnished houses/villas into fully-furnished and managed apartments, and provide them to a pre-verified tenant.

Zocalo is also launching CoHo Partners for properties aggregated from third-party operators. Zocalo would act as the branding and marketing partner.

It is also tying up with home services providers for housekeeping, repairs, maintenance,Wi-Fi and other services, Lakkar said. The startup would also facilitate in-house recreation amenities and meals (in several CoHo Partner rooms).

CoHo Stayz would compete with Bangalore-based Nestaway Technologies Pvt Ltd, which runs an online managed home rental marketplace for singles by the same name. In July, Nestaway had raised Rs 76 crore (approximately $12 million) in funding from consumer e-commerce venture Flipkart and Tiger Global Management.

Zocalo, owned by Zocalo Realtech Pvt Ltd, was founded in May 2014 by IIM-Ahmedabad graduate Lakkar, who is a chartered accountant. He worked with McKinsey, Morgan Stanley and EXL before starting Zocalo. Zocalo connects individuals directly with long-stay accommodation providers with listings of hostels, PGs, shared and rental apartment information.

In August, Zocalo raised an undisclosed amount in seed funding from startup accelerator GSF's Rajesh Sawhney, MakeMyTrip co-founder Sachin Bhatia and others.

The Indian online realty market is dominated by Info Edge's 99acres and Times group-owned MagicBricks. PropTiger, CommonFloor, Housing.com and IndiaProperty are among other major players.

PropTiger is 30 per cent owned by News Corp, which acquired the parent of this website in March.