New Delhi, Sept. 30 -- When Gaurav Arora was leaving Goa in 2013 after working there for more than two years, his family wanted a reason to keep returning. So he bought an apartment in Porvorim for about Rs.65 lakh, planning to visit at least once every six months and rent it out when the family was away.

Neither worked out quite as planned.

Over the next 10 years, the family visited Goa only about five times. "The children wanted to holiday in new places and going back to the same place started feeling restrictive." Meanwhile, the house demanded attention whether the family used it or not.

Arora paid a Rs.50,000 monthly EMI, a property manager's salary and for repairs during the monsoon and appliances damaged by Goa's humidity. Airbnb...