New Delhi, June 22 -- After years of building its business around weekend holiday homes in Maharashtra, villa rental platform SaffronStays is pivoting towards luxury villas, premium estates and religious tourism as it looks to tap new demand segments across India.

"We have been very selective about the kind of inventory we add. The focus has been on improving the quality of the portfolio rather than simply increasing the number of homes," founder and chief executive Devendra Parulekar told Mint.

He said the move has been driven by economics as much as demand, as budget homes generated lower yields while requiring similar levels of operations, customer support and compliance.

Premium properties, on the other hand, generate higher yields...