Parul Gulati’s Goa property has given the actor and entrepreneur a firsthand lesson in the realities of the holiday-rental business.
Gulati had previously expected her two-bedroom Goa home to generate as much as ₹40,000 a night when she planned to put it on Airbnb. But after entering the market herself, she says the property’s earning potential has been considerably lower than she originally anticipated.
The actor and Nish Hair founder recently returned to Sharan Hegde’s podcast, where she spoke candidly about her experience with the property and explained how changing market conditions affected her expectations.
Parul Gulati once expected ₹40,000 a night
Gulati had discussed her Goa investment during an earlier appearance on Hegde’s podcast in 2024.
At the time, she explained that she had purchased a house in Goa with the intention of listing it as an Airbnb property and generating rental income from it.
When asked about the potential earnings, Gulati estimated that the two-bedroom property could bring in around ₹40,000 per night.
Her optimism was based partly on the property’s size and positioning in Goa’s holiday-home market.
The property, known as Malkin House, is located in Nerul and features two bedrooms, a private swimming pool and a garden.
The Goa rental market changed
Gulati’s expectations evolved after she experienced the business firsthand.
According to the actor, the number of luxury villas available to travelers has increased substantially since she first considered renting out the property.
“As I said on your podcast that I will charge 45k a night, reality hit me because back then there weren’t so many villas, so many luxury villas,” Gulati told Hegde.
She said the growth in competing properties over the following years made the market more challenging than she had initially expected.
The experience also taught her that a property’s potential nightly rate cannot be viewed in isolation from the broader market.
Seasonality was another lesson
Competition was not the only factor that changed Gulati’s calculations.
She admitted that she had initially underestimated the importance of peak and off-season periods in Goa’s hospitality market.
“I did not understand an off-season or a peak season very well,” she said, describing the venture as her first experience in the business.
Understanding seasonal demand is particularly important for holiday rentals because the same property can command very different rates depending on the time of year, local demand and the wider supply of available accommodation.
Malkin House is now being offered at ₹11,000 a night
Gulati said the property is currently being offered at approximately ₹11,000 per night.
That figure represents a substantial difference from the ₹40,000-per-night level she had once expected.
The change does not necessarily mean the property has been unsuccessful as an investment. Rather, it demonstrates how projected rental revenue can differ significantly from actual market pricing once an owner encounters real-world competition and fluctuations in demand.
For Gulati, the experience has provided a practical education in hospitality and real-estate economics.
What Parul Gulati learned from the investment
The Goa property has become an example of how quickly short-term rental markets can evolve.
A market that appears attractive when an investment is initially made can become more competitive as additional properties enter the sector. Luxury travelers have more choices, while property owners may need to adjust prices to remain competitive.
Seasonality can further complicate revenue projections.
Gulati’s experience highlights why investors considering holiday rentals need to look beyond an attractive headline nightly rate. Occupancy levels, operating costs, maintenance, property management, local competition and seasonal demand can all influence the actual return from a property.
From entrepreneur to property investor
Gulati is already familiar with building a business through Nish Hair, the beauty and hair-extension company she founded.
Her Goa property represents a different kind of entrepreneurial experience, requiring her to understand a hospitality market rather than a traditional consumer brand.
Her comments offer a candid look at the learning curve that can accompany a first property venture.
The biggest takeaway from her experience is that an expected rental rate is only a starting point. The actual earning potential of a holiday home depends on how the property performs against competing listings and how demand changes throughout the year.
For Gulati, the gap between the original ₹40,000 projection and the current ₹11,000 rate has turned her Goa Airbnb project into a valuable business lesson — one that she says she did not fully anticipate when she first entered the market.
