Bed and Breakfast: South Delhi is game,cashes in on trend

Without sterner measures in place,many establishments,however,are found functioning like commercial hotels,flouting rules and regulations.

Fitted with reception desks and offering beauty parlours,room services and car rental facilities,some of these places can compete with any luxury hotel,thereby defeating its very purpose.

The first requirement for the Bed & Breakfast establishment is that the landlords live in the house. But in places like “Stay Home” in Jangpura,guests have the company of only the caretaker. “How can you expect landlords to live here?” the caretaker said. “The place only has four rooms with no living area.”

In establishments like “On the House” at Safdarjung Enclave,their website advertises seven rooms while the B&B Act restricts the number of rooms to five.

The Bed & Breakfast scheme was launched to introduce foreign guests to the “traditions and culture of India”. But instead of the Indian aloo-parantha,guests are served bacon,eggs and sausages.

Mohinder Kaur,who offers two rooms of her Defence Colony home for B&B and follows rules,said many homes are offering the comforts of a hotel as B&B,as a scheme,has not picked up. She has been in the business for three years and is yet to receive a guest through the scheme. “Whatever guests we get are through our friends and acquaintances,” she said.

OP Chaudhary,who runs one of the establishments at Birbal Road,said business is strong mostly during the wedding season. The rest of the year,he has to make do with a couple of guests in his five-room establishment.

PK Tripathi,the Chairman of Delhi Tourism and Transportation Development Corporation,agreed that inspection is not stringent. But that is because they want to encourage the scheme,he said. “If too many checks are placed,it will scare people away. Also,while inspection may locate the few who are flouting rules,the innocent will have to undergo a lot of trouble.” He,however,added that in future,inspections will be more stringent.

Most people who have let out the houses for B&B are aged,retired people whose children live abroad. Then there are those like Renu Dayal from Vasant Kunj. A single woman living alone,the B&B scheme provides her with an engagement as well as an income.

With 28 houses and 91 rooms,Greater Kailash I,II and III comprise the single largest area for the B & B establishments. Areas of North Delhi and Central Delhi have not picked up much,while the NCR region has zero participation.