Team-BHP - Starting a Home Stay/Resort in Coorg.. Suggestions and Help Welcome

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- - Starting a Home Stay/Resort in Coorg.. Suggestions and Help Welcome (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/shifting-gears/43315-starting-home-stay-resort-coorg-suggestions-help-welcome-3.html)

nice going zahed. All the best on your homestay venture.

somethings which come to my mind

1. Remember some guests may come with little ones. This has been the biggest problem i had faced when taking vacation with my 2 year old. Try and make sure you have a doc on call (both general and pediatric). Games for littles ones (small toys,ball, bat etc). A nanny if possible. A small slide.

2. Staff who are cheerful and respect the guests

3. If its going to be stay with food clubbed along with it, get your menu published on your website.

4. Have a garden. Guests love to take photographs of places they stay. Maybe a unique tree with a good view.

5. Plenty of lighting where guests venture out.

6. If your view is good a barbeque would be a nice idea.

7. Mobile charging points (for popular ones like nokia,SE).

8. Umbrella/Rain Coats which guests can borrow.

1. Cleanliness - Somehow this is one of the most important things for quite a few people out there. I know of many people who have been turned off from really nice places because towels or bedsheets, etc. were not clean or changed frequently. Even though the decor and linen is not expensive, if it is clean, it really works to one's advantage.

2. Bugs/mosquitoes - How many times have one gone to a nice serene resort surrounded by a lot of greenery and have been irritated by mosquitoes/bugs. Invest in a fogging machine (quite a few societies in Mumbai do that) and have the premises fogged with a bug/mosquito repellent at least once every 2 days. Other repellents just do not work.

3. Non-intrusive and helpful staff: This is an extremely sensitive issue with people

4. Economical pricing of basic amenities: Have some basic amenities on sale in the premises: shampoo/toothpaste/soaps/chocolates/mints/ciggys and keep it on MRP. Also, tea/coffee should be priced cheaply. How many times have you seen resorts charging 80 bucks for a 'cuppa chai'. That's exploitation for you.

I guess you may have tons of items on your list too. We will keep posting as we come up with suggestions

Quote:

Originally Posted by shankar.balan (Post 923783)

Add the following:
No Power / Electricity troubles
Hot and Cold Running Water.
First class bathrooms with clean fresh towels.
Big windows overlooking a good view and/or well tended garden.
First class catering.
Comfortable beds.
Good staff/ service.

A lot of the good aspects of places like Orange County/ Tata Coffee Plantation Trails Guest Houses etc should be taken into account if you are targeting quality/ comfort seeking premium customers.

People from cities may say they like to go on an adventure but the minute you take them to a place which doesnt have power, hot water, good food etc, they start getting edgy - so much for adventure. Today's idea of camping is "luxury camping"!

Hi Shnkar.I dint get any good bolero but i have found a good conditioned 96 model 4wd mm540dp.the owner is asking for 1.6l but iam not sure how much i can pay for it.it also comes with a separate trailer.
Our place is located 5kms from madikeri in a village called mekeri.iam planning to go visit a few guest houses in the area to get ideas.i will surely let everyone here know when the place is up and running and will also give updates as work progresses.
-gonna have inverters for power cuts.
-hot water geysers in every bathroom to take care of water problems.
-bathrooms would be clean because i myself cant stand a dirty toilet.
-food would be more of a local cuisine than the standard stuff we find here in cities.
-iam planning to stay there myself and manage it with the help of a few staff ppl so u could expect good service.

what you have mentioned is right.people say they want adventure but the moment they have no power or hot water they start to get restless. as far as possible,i do not want to run this as a business.iam not looking for customers,iam looking to build a long lasting relationship.

Quote:

Originally Posted by phamilyman (Post 923606)

Hondadude,

Where else will he find a bunch of people with decent salaries in South India, who will fill up a questionnaire? Alot of us ARE his target market re. Tell me who he is missing.

Please understand that alot of us not withstanding autophilism, still travel with friends/family for quiet getaways. And we don't do like bikers in college would do - look for 300 bucks a night rooms. Typical triplogs in teambhp in that area speak of much more expensive acco, alot in homestays. So what's wrong. I think this is a fantastic way to go about it.

The real big thing next is to advertise it. Through his BHPian friends, he can again reach out to some decent IT/large firms and get posters put up/mailers sent out on intranet :) teambhp can help. I fail to see your point.

As phamilyman mentioned,iam not looking at targeting individual souls or coll kids who are on a tight budget.iam looking at the family traveller or the large group of travellers.also iam not doing this for the money.i could take up a nice job in an mnc if it was only about money.its more of a passion for people.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zappo (Post 923564)

Since you asked for it here are some suggestions from my end,
* Coorg House
* Log Cabin
* Hill Shack
* Mystic Mountain
* Rainbow House
* Coffee Cottage
* Hyacinth
* Megh Malhar
* The Retreat

I think thats more than enough, right? :D

thanks for the names zappo.log cabin and hyacinth are good.the retreat already exists somewhere if iam not wrong.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Torque123 (Post 923528)

Few names that i can suggest are :1) Serene Hills/mountain/valley 2) Misty Hills 3) Flora N Fauna 4) Milky Heights.

1.For me FOOD is the most important thing while travelling. Awesome non veg (Coorgi)food after a trek is something which cannot be compromised on.
2.Privacy is 2nd on my list.

Just my 2 cents.

thanks for the reply torque123.food is surely one thing thats on top of my list too and i can assure you that privacy will be plentiful.

Quote:

Originally Posted by hondadude (Post 923555)

In my opinion you are going about it in the wrong way. You should first ask yourself the question. What segment of people are you targeting this at ? Are you targeting couples, adventurous singles, families, groups ? Recall your MBA lessons and think about Positioning.

Once you know the people that you want to attract, you should ask feedback from them. Team-BHP is a community which is bound together by a shared passion in all of us, automobiles. Are you planning to start a home-stay that will appeal to automobile enthusiasts ?

Please don't misunderstand me. I am not trying to beat up on you. Since you want to run this as a business, I am requesting you to approach it like one.

hey no issues buddy.my primary target would be couples along with families and groups.focus would be more on couples and families.the reason i asked for feedbak and suggestions at tbhp is because we have a lot of family people who go out on trips and they constitute my target. Also,iam not running this as a business.its just for the pure love of customer service and satisfaction.I do not want a customer,I want to build a long lasting relationship.

Quote:

Originally Posted by NIP (Post 923617)

i'm pretty sure no other places have these names, at least in coorg. the trick is not to have 'generic' names, so when someone mentions the name of the place, it should rattle around in their head for a bit. thats the first step towards good branding. and of course, it will help your future website crawl upwards in the search engine. good luck !

gotcha.will do so.for now its your names that are on top of the list along with a few others :) thanks

Quote:

Originally Posted by bharanidharang (Post 923822)

Hi Bharani.thanks for the suggestions.

1.had not thought about the doc on call but i do plan to have a medical and first aid kit with whatever daily medicines that may be needed.i guess i need to stock some small toys for kids too.

2.i will surely try to get hold of some good courteous staff apart from which i myself would be present most of the times.

3.havent decided about the food/stay combo.would need to go a bit deeper into that after going through other places.

4.i would have a garden but at a later stage.

5.lighting would be provided as and where needed so guests can go out.

6.there is one area which can be used for a good barbeque and a camp fire.

7.not sure if charging points would be needed since i plan to give charging points in each room

8.umbrellas/gum boots will be kept in case guests want to use them.

Hi,

I am also building a quiet retreat(gated community) in Yelagiri. Its for people to buy(own their own villa with all the amenities) and not a resort/time share. I guess its very important to look at the kind of people you are going to cater to first. I was in Coorg recently and I suggest you take a cue from Club Mahindra there. I had a wonderful holiday there. Regarding the name I would suggest go for something which is out of the ordinary(not the same valleys and creeks we see everywhere). You can maybe use some Coorgie term as the name which describes/depicts your place.

Cheers

Quote:

Originally Posted by kalpeshc (Post 923852)

Cleanliness is of utmost importance for sure.as for bugs and mosquitos iam sure we can mange that.staff would provide enough privacy but also ensure that they are not too over friendly or easy going.our place wont be like the other hotels who charge exhorbitant prices for a bottle of water or a cup of tea.on the other hand i have been thinking of providing quite a few things compimentary.

Quote:

Originally Posted by redsfx (Post 924132)

ya i would prefer a local name too.brings out the flavour of the land.club mahindra is a good place but its a complete commercial resort.i do not want to make my place a commercial resort.i want to keep it private and serene without the hassles of a resort.

Quote:

Originally Posted by redsfx (Post 924132)

i am interested :). Keep us posted.

zahed,

get a few guitars. When having a barbeque, a guitar would be lovely.

Quote:

Originally Posted by bharanidharang (Post 924174)

i am interested :). Keep us posted.

zahed,

get a few guitars. When having a barbeque, a guitar would be lovely.

sure.but someone should know how to play one right?i do have an old guitar at home but never got the time to learn it.

Congrats on your venture! You can be certain it'll do well if you meet some simple criteria that most members have highlighted.

One of the key aspects of homestay is to be able to arrange for some kind of activities like jeep safari etc to places closeby. If activities are good for the family, some small nuances with the accomodation/food shall be forgiven.

From a business perspective, I have observed (only as a customer since I am not even closely related to the hospitality industry ) that some aspects of a resort/stay seem to just shoot up room rates. Like, a swimming pool shoots up the rent by atleast 50%. On the other hand, the investment on a good gym, may not. A good website does wonders too.
If an occasional customers like us can think of such things, I am sure experts can really give extremely valuable inputs with data to back them up. I suggest you talk to a few of them.

As others mentioned, please go for a nice local name. I'll think of it and reply back if I manage something !! Keep us updated on the progress

Good luck!

zahed...are u the zahed from jaymahal by any chance ?

The name silent valley has already been taken around Madikere - Silent Valley Cottages Madikeri Coorg | Coorg Homestay | Estate Bungalow

I am an architect bit not really into home-stays and resorts - I have an alumni who also happens to be an estate owner in Coorg and is doing a few projects (residences and home stay extensions) there. Let me know if you need any professional help (can PM me)- I'll put you in touch with him. He's based in Bangalore.

Quote:

Originally Posted by kvish (Post 924350)

hey dont worry we dont need a swimming pool due to the presence of the stream and i dont think too many ppl wud come to coorg to go to the gym instead of relaxing.i can arrange for a local who can go trekking with guests if they desire to.

Quote:

Originally Posted by NIP (Post 924578)

zahed...are u the zahed from jaymahal by any chance ?

i dont stay in jaymahal.i stay in benson town.is it possible that we know each other?

Quote:

Originally Posted by viper_711 (Post 924606)

hey viper_711 thanks for the help.i do have a local person who is helping me out in everything.he himself has built a few houses and cottages.will let you know for sure if needed.thanks.

Quote:

Originally Posted by princezahed (Post 924633)

i dont stay in jaymahal.i stay in benson town.is it possible that we know each other?

maybe we know each other. tell me...did you used to run a coffee shop on 100ft. road by any chance? i think its called beanstalk or something like that.

Quote:

Originally Posted by NIP (Post 924672)

maybe we know each other. tell me...did you used to run a coffee shop on 100ft. road by any chance? i think its called beanstalk or something like that.

he he..no i dont run beanstalk.i guess iam not the zahed you know

Zahed many have added point so thought of suggesting names :

1) CoorgVilla
2) Coorgi Paradise
3) Simply Coorg
4) Coorg Valley

more as I think of them