A decade ago, searching for a hostel or accommodation as a paying guest in a new city involved innumerable calls to brokers, visits to various locations and more calls to find out the experience of those who had stayed there before.
Now though, with a host of websites, online testimonials, photographs of options and the ubiquitous Facebook, the process of finding a place to stay has become much easier.
The flip-side of the accommodation boom is the varying standards as the industry remains largely unregulated with the mushrooming of hostels and PG facilities.
In the suburbs including Ambattur, Adambakkam, parts of Rajiv Gandhi Salai — the IT hub of the city — dozens of accommodation options have sprung up over the last few years. “With over 1.5 lakh people working in the IT and ITES sectors on OMR alone, many options have emerged to meet their needs,” said an IT industry source.
Top priority
Many of these facilities cater to women and security is a top priority for them.
“We have wardens 24x7 in all our three branches and outsiders, except for parents and close relatives, are not allowed inside. Every walkway and common area has a CCTV system and someone keeps constant watch as the safety of our inmates is of utmost importance,” said Vallimayil Palanichamy, who has been running Home Stay in Adambakkam for the past five years.
“I ensure that I know all the 95 girls by name and know their families and background. I want to provide a home-like atmosphere for them so that they don’t feel homesick,” Ms. Palanichamy dded.
There are not many facilities for men and families still think twice before renting out homes to bachelors in many areas.
Long search
“I had to hunt for quite some time to find a place where my three roommates and I could stay. It was slightly more difficult than usual since we wanted to cook on our own,” said Saiprem, who stays in a house in Karapakkam.
Adam’s House, which has an online presence and has facilities in and around Thoraipakkam, caters only to men.
“There are a lot of options for women but not as many for men, which is why we cater only to them,” said G. Ashik, the manager. This paying guest accommodation seems to take into account practically every need a working professional may require.
“Almost all of our guests work in the IT sector,” Mr. Ashik said, adding that they cater to around 200 guests a month who stay for anywhere between a month and two years. About 40 per cent of their bookings are made online, mainly by guests coming in from different parts of India, he said.
The student and working professional accommodation industry in India isworth USD 100 billion, said Prafulla Mathur, founder-CEO, WudStay, a provider of long-term accommodation in six cities in the country.
The website says ‘no brokerage’ and ‘no restrictions’ and he said that standardised, quality services were what the company was aiming to provide.
Options galore
A few portals offer searches for hostels and PGs in various cities, with options to check for facilities, areas and cost.
Otherwise, there’s Facebook, where for instance, Whatveedu, a closed group, provides a platform for house owners and prospective tenants to interact, negotiate and seal deals.
For one student of a city college who stays at a paying guest accommodation, privacy is important. She gets it with a separate entrance to her room.
“I have full freedom here and there are no restrictions on having a kettle and a cooker,” she said.
The cost varies according to the facilities. For instance, Adam’s House charges Rs. 12,000 per month per head for an individual room — the cost includes food. Hostel rooms begin at Rs. 3,500 per month for shared accommodation.
Property tax
Hostels and PG accommodations inside the core city and in expanded areas are treated differently. Those inside pay property taxes at commercial rates but outside, since there are no special buildings, they are treated as residential buildings by the Chennai Corporation, said a former official of the civic body. The civic body’s sanitary inspectors visit the premises on a regular basis and the police always keep a tab on who is staying in them.
The Madras High Court had directed the Chennai Corporation to call for the views of stakeholders in the matter pertaining to reclassifying of the properties and collection of property tax at commercial rates.
Though the Chennai Corporation had issued a notification to the effect, clarity is yet to emerge in the matter, said a person, who runs a hostel.
