Bharat Agarwal, Founder, The Hive Hostels
The IPO comes as larger real estate players such as Prestige Estates eye an entry into the co-living/hostel category, signalling institutional interest in the segment.
The Hive is betting big on its premium paying guest brand, Aurus, with the addition of 3,000 beds over the next three years across Vadodara, Ahmedabad, Pune, Noida, and Greater Noida. The company has recorded current revenue of ₹85 crore, with projections to achieve revenue of ₹110 crore by FY27.
Following the post-Covid boom, industry players began going after assets which were already developed in the market. This model was flawed, said Bharat Agarwal, Founder, The Hive Hostels.
“We realised that this business model is not sustainable because I have got a new property today and I’m able to sell it today. Tomorrow, somebody else comes up with a new property right next to me, there’s no value addition because the structure is the same, the room size is the same, the amenities are the same. All I can do is provide slightly better food, which hardly makes any difference for a first-time consumer.
The occupancy levels were decreasing, as well as the profit margins, he added. Hence, we shifted to a BTS (build-to-suit) model which leaned towards the luxury segment. We are working with different developers across the country and getting the assets made to our specifications.”
Focus on Aurus
The company will not be adding more properties to its mass category- The Hive, but is more focused on reducing costs so that it can deliver a better product at a competitive price. “Our idea with Aurus at a pan-India level is not to make a product that is unaffordable for the general category or for normal people. Our idea is to get volumes at that scale, wherein we ourselves are able to reduce the cost to an extent that we are able to deliver the same product at a competitive price.”
While the revenue split is currently around 70-30%, with 70% from Aurus and 30% from Hive, going forward, since there is no growth happening in the Hive model, Agarwal says the proportion of Aurus should increase substantially.
Published on October 28, 2025
