Features: Magazine | Literary Review | Life | Metro Plus | Open Page | Education Plus | Book Review | Business | SciTech | Friday Review | Young World | Property Plus | Quest | Folio |

Have rooms, will sell

ARMCHAIR TOURISM Parayil Homestead in Alappuzha, Chittoor Palace in Ernakulam district and interior of Kottoor House, Kochi

Have spare rooms, will sell. There’s plenty of room for more rooms in the tourist seasons to come. But then selling is not everybody’s cup of tea. So the next best thing to do is to outsource the marketing of your property, be it rooms or home. This is the latest trend in the industry which is touching the lives of ordinary people in more ways than one. In this way regular homemakers, teachers, farmers can draw income from their properties.

Marvel Tours Pvt Ltd’s Green Apple branding has come up with a novel way of reaching out to such people and converting their homes and rooms into a business venture. The traveller, the property owner and the facilitator are smiling at the profitable partnership.

In this new concept one can register spare rooms or an unlived house with Green Apple, which will ensure occupancy and provide you with part of the profit. So while you sit back and relax, your property fetches you a handsome return. A business started this April it has already registered a number of homes and bungalows in Kerala and in Tamil Nadu too.

Explains Sejoe Jose, Director, Marvel Tours, whose brainchild this concept is: “I had lots of people asking me to do something with their properties. People spend so much money on brochures and attend travel shows but marketing requires a different expertise. Green Apple helps people put their properties to good use without the hassle of getting into the grind of the business.” Says Suresh Namboothiri whose elegant, royal home, Chittoor Palace is the latest to register with this brand, “I have a very exclusive property and instead of marketing it myself, I have handed it over to the people from inside the industry who know the business.” Chittoor Palace offers balcony suites and Mr. Namboothiri says it’s ideal for a family to holiday.

Green Apple looks for a home with a character or rooms with a view, an identity that will have the travellers enjoy every bit of their stay in a special home. “We insist on a home with a character and see that the identity is maintained. We maintain their logo, if any, of the old tharavadus. If they have a website and an email id, that is carried forward. Our quality control people check for certain standards and see that they are met. Even small details like standardisation of toiletries is attended to,” says Sejoe. Professor Chackochan whose Nelpura Homestay in Kuttanad is a treat for the tourists, being almost an island, says, “I am a teacher by profession, teaching at the university. My place is beautiful and ideal for travellers who wish for a true Kerala experience. I tried to run it as a homestay last season but started marketing it a bit late. Despite that I got a good response. That’s when I thought of giving the marketing of the property to a person who knows the business. This way both ends are benefited. My only condition is that this should be marketed as Nelpura homestay which is how it’s being done. I am very satisfied.”

At Nelpura, the guests are treated to an exotic backwater experience and get all the three meals from the home kitchen as hotels and the city are far away. “For homes which do not have staff to run the place we provide cooks, butlers, helpers till the guests are there. We ensure every possible facility for the guest,” says Sejoe. Kottoor House on Warriam road providing a typical Syrian Christian household experience too has entrusted their marketing to Green Apple. Says Rosa, from Kottoor House, “For us it was not possible to do the marketing. We do what we are good at, that’s providing a good home and they do what they are good at, marketing. It’s a symbiotic thing.”

Registering with Green Apple is for a minimum period of five years but there are exit clauses if the deal does not work out to the satisfaction of both parties. “If we are unable to produce results they can exit from the contract. We guarantee 25 per cent occupancy depending on which year they tie up with us. Once a property is with us then its marketing is totally in our hands. So from brochures to managing the website and selling the property at all travel shows is attended to. ” says Sejoe. “If the property is legally clean and if it reaches our standards then we happily accept it and run the show. We have a central reservation policy so we know which rooms fall vacant when and accordingly plan a travel routine for tourists. Hence we ensure occupancy of registered rooms. It is a win-win situation for both parties. We see to eco-friendlinessWe stress on responsible tourism.”

Some of the other properties registered under this scheme are Parayil Home, Alleppey, Mayuram in Govindapperi, TN and Mayapott bungalow in Thekkady. So if you are wondering how to maintain that traditional, old architecturally rich nalukettu of yours here’s what you can do or if you have a room with a view you can be a part of exciting tourism, relaxing on that old arm chair.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail