Your plans of that great vacation amid coffee plants in Kodagu could well go awry if you don't do your homework. Cashing in on the demand for homestays, a large number of unregistered players have moved into the market, providing anything but an agreeable experience.
So much so properties have been taken on rent and converted into homestays, offering tariffs as low as Rs. 250 a day per person.
In some cases, even outhouses have been converted while some families offer a single room in their home to guests.
There have been cases where guests have opened the wardrobe only to find the host's clothes packed in it.
Poor amenities
Complaints about inadequate amenities, poor service and harassment of guests are common as many unregistered homestays are frequent, says John, who manages a tourist information centre.
Of about 1,000 homestays across Kodagu, only about 240 are recognised by the Tourism Department, which are classified under gold and silver category. A ballpark figure for Madikeri is around 400 homestays as tourist inflow is high, especially on weekends.
Oddly enough, some well maintained homestays have not registered with the department.
This unregulated growth, especially in Madikeri, is due to the limited number of budget and premium hotels.
“There are about eight hotels in the budget category in Madikeri. With the improvement of the Madikeri-Mysore highway, we expect tourists to increase,” says K.T. Subbaiah of Green Haven, a budget hotel.
Norms not met
Says Dilip Chengappa, President, Coorg Tourism Promotion Association: “The Tourism Department has laid down norms that make it mandatory for owners to stay on the property, and guests should be served home-cooked food. Besides, homestays cannot be run in rented homes. The unregistered ones don't even pay tax whereas gold and silver category homes pay an annual tax of Rs. 15,000 and Rs. 10,000. The department should register all homestays. Those that offer least facilities need not get a star and guests need not expect much from them. Others can be categorised under single, double and three stars.”
Tourism Department Director K. Vishwanath Reddy said that they had been asking the homestays to register themselves with the department. “We can regulate those registered with us.”
