One operator or many: the first decision
A villa resort can be run in two ways. Each owner lets their own villa, or one operator runs every villa as a single hotel. At Saraya Beach Resort & Residences we chose the second.
The reasons are practical:
- One standard. Guests get the same service, housekeeping and maintenance whichever villa they book.
- One brand in the market. A single operator sells the whole resort through its own sales and booking channels.
- Shared facilities that work. The restaurants, the beach club, the spa and the gym only make sense if they are run as one operation.
- One relationship. The operator answers to a single management company instead of 154 separate owners.
I owned and ran a resort before, Troppo Zone Puri Rama in Kuta, so I don't underestimate how much of a hotel's work happens out of sight. That is the work I want a specialist doing at Saraya. The Troppo Zone page covers those years.
How the owners' management agreement works
Every Saraya owner enters into an owners' management agreement. The other party is PT Saraya Resort Lombok, the project company, and it is that company that appoints the hotel operator.
| Party | Role |
|---|---|
| Villa owner | Holds the individually titled villa |
| PT Saraya Resort Lombok | Holds the owners' management agreements and contracts the operator |
| Hotel operator | Runs the resort day to day as one hotel |
The structure keeps each role clear. Revenue is designed to be collected centrally and paid out through the pool, which spares the operator from dealing with each owner one by one. The title itself is separate from all of this, as I explain in my note on HGB title in Indonesia.
View tiers in the Saraya rental pool
Not every villa is the same product. For the rental pool, villas are sorted into four tiers by view. The tiers run from garden villas, through sunset and mountain view and ocean view, up to beachfront.
The point of tiers is fairness. Guests don't book a garden villa the way they book one on the beachfront, and the pool shouldn't pretend otherwise. Part of what shapes those views is the coastal setback, which I cover in why Saraya sits 100 metres back.
What owners receive
Owners are paid 60% of room revenue once booking-platform fees have been deducted.
That is the only figure I give about Saraya income. I don't quote yields or projected returns, because no developer can promise future occupancy, and I'd rather owners plan on facts than forecasts. My years running Bali holiday villas, including through COVID, are a big part of why I hold that view.
Choosing a hotel operator for a villa resort: what I weigh
We put the operator role out to competition. The international groups in that process included Banyan Tree, Eastin Grand, Outrigger, SONO Hotels & Resorts and Swiss-Belhotel International.
These are the things I weigh most when comparing operators:
- Fit with the resort. A resort of 154 villas behaves very differently from a city hotel tower. I want an operator that knows how to run villas.
- Reach. Where the operator's guests come from, and whether those markets line up with the people who already visit Lombok.
- Reporting. Owners deserve clear, regular statements. An operator's reporting matters as much as its brand.
- Local hiring and training. Running Saraya will take many local staff. I want an operator willing to train people from nearby villages, which ties into Kinnara Capital's community work.
- Terms that last. A management contract runs for years, so the terms have to make sense for owners in a quiet season as well as a busy one.
What owners should ask about any rental pool
Whoever runs a villa resort, owners should understand the terms before they buy. At Saraya or anywhere else, I'd ask about:
- how often owners receive statements, and what detail they show
- which costs come out before revenue is shared, and which come out after
- who pays to maintain and replace furniture and equipment over time
- how long the management agreement runs, and how it can end
Good answers in writing are worth more than any brochure.
When the operator will be named
We will name the operator when the agreements are signed, not before. Announcing a brand ahead of a signed contract is a promise you can't yet keep, and I won't make one to buyers.
Until then, Kinnara Capital keeps working on what we control: the land, the design, the contractor and the specification. The Saraya website will carry the announcement when it comes.
This note is general information only. It is not legal or financial advice.