A gift-wrapped opportunity for AirBnB and Oyo from Modi. Govt to allow people to turn their houses into home stays at negligible cost!

All over the world, tourists have an option of ditching expensive hotels and stay with locals in their homes at lesser prices, for which locals get enough support from the government. However, in India, which attracts millions of tourists from around the globe and within the country itself, this service has not seen a proper structure, loaded with rigorous licensing norms and taxes.

However, with government’s help, turning the extra room in your home into a money-spinner without having to worry about heavy taxes or stringent licenses might be a reality.

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The Narendra Modi government is said to be working on relaxing these rules so that Indians are encouraged to offer home stays to tourists. This would not only help the government in filling up the massive shortage of 1.9 lakh hotel rooms in the country, but would also provide living to people while being helpful for the 'Start-Up India' programme.

The move has come after a presentation that a group of eight secretaries, including Tourism Department Secretary, Vinod Zutshi, made to Modi in January, pushing home stays as "tourism sector specific interventions".

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The presentation proposed that home stays not be charged commercial or service taxes, and that their licensing process should be made online.

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