Chototel; A Hospitality Renaissance

Chototel; A Hospitality Renaissance

Hailing from a family that has pioneered affordable housing in the country it was natural for 24 year old Rhea Silva to start young with her own venture 'Chototel, formed from the words "chotu" (meaning small) and hotel, is rolling out an exciting project building 'super-budget hotels', where tariffs start from US$2/day with uninterrupted utilities, clean water and social infrastructure such as crèches, community kitchens and open, green spaces.

"Chototel is the people's hotel using an innovative business model to act as a catalyst to eradicate homelessness", quips Rhea who is company's Founder & MD, Chototel. Rhea's passion to discover market solutions drove her to realising her dream that will aim at providing quality and dignified housing solutions to a global market that at present fails to cater to the people at the bottom of the pyramid. A market solution was critically felt and needed as soaring rentals and housing prices are fuelling housing poverty thereby resulting in an upsurge in the number of people living in sub-standard housing conditions.

Armed with a strong advisory board and an dedicated executive team, Rhea's on a mission to change and revolutionise the way the World houses its' people. "Chototel was conceived out of the need to provide quality and dignified housing solutions to a global market that fails to cater to those at the bottom of the pyramid",. "Our vision is to build a strong social infrastructure to address the housing shortage in the urban areas while the estimated cost to address this challenge is US $9 – $11 trillion. We hope to capture a significant stake in this market", she adds.

The first Chototel project has already broken ground and the construction is underway in Nagothane an industrial town, 70 kilometres south of Mumbai situated on the new Mumbai-Goa expressway. The project aims to target its accommodations at the large bank of industrial workers, working within a 15-kilometre radius, and also those travelling on the Mumbai-Goa expressway. The 240 room hotel will welcome its first guests in June 2016. Targeted at nuclear families and industrial workers; each Chototel room can hold 2-4 people, and guests benefit from a clean, safe environment with inexpensive uninterrupted utilities.

Rhea is a valedictorian from St. Xavier's College in Mumbai and is completing her degree in law this summer. In the past few years her exposure and interest in real-estate and capital markets have centered on finding affordable housing solutions that can have a social impact along with scalable business model.An an alumni of St. Xavier's College in Mumbai and she is completing her degree in law this summer. Rhea believes that entrepreneurs should be celebrated, and entrepreneurship developed and nurtured in India. "I am passionate about the work entrepreneurs are doing to further the economic and social goals" concluded Rhea.