Owner guides
Running a homestay in Karnataka, explained plainly.
What the government asks of a homestay, in the order you will meet it: registering, the paperwork, which category you fall into, and the rules once guests arrive. Every rule links back to the clause of the 2025 guidelines it comes from.
- Registration
How to register a homestay in Karnataka
Every homestay in Karnataka must be registered with the Department of Tourism. You apply online to the Deputy Commissioner of your district, four officials inspect the house, and an approval committee decides within 45 working days. If it does not, the registration is deemed approved. A registration lasts 5 years.
7 min readRead the guide - Registration
Documents you need to register a homestay in Karnataka
You need identity and residence proof, proof that you own the land or house, a map location, photographs of the house, a room, a bathroom and the CCTV camera, proof of the fee payment, and two signed undertakings. The application form also asks for the owner’s Aadhaar and PAN numbers, GPS coordinates and the size of every guest room.
4 min readRead the guide - Eligibility
Homestay or Bed and Breakfast: which one is your property?
It depends on who lives there. If the owner or their spouse or children live in the house, it is a homestay, which the guidelines treat as non-commercial. If the owner lives elsewhere and an agent or operator runs it, it is a Bed and Breakfast, which is commercial and covered by separate guidelines.
4 min readRead the guide - Running it
Homestay operating rules in Karnataka: the checklist
A registered homestay must serve breakfast, keep CCTV at reception with 30 days of footage, keep a guest register with ID copies, report foreign guests to the police, keep feedback and complaint registers, display its certificate and local emergency contacts, and keep the place clean and safe. Inspectors can check any of this without notice.
5 min readRead the guide
Own a homestay or villa in Udupi or along the coast and would rather not run it alone? See how Excoka Hospitality manages properties.