Small, quirky, off-the-beaten-path hotels are becoming the hottest industry commodity in India as domestic travelers seek meaningful retreats and an escape from the stresses of the country’s large cities.
These accommodation options were until recently the prerogative of adventurous inbound travelers, but that is no longer the case, according to sources.
Offerings such as a tree house in Jibhi, near Manali in the state of Himachal Pradesh; or a traditional wooden house, albeit with all modern amenities, in the foothills of the Himalaya Mountains in state of Ladakh, are two such properties seeing high occupancies and outsized average daily rates.
It's not only rural properties getting in on the act. Other options include a mud house right in the center of busy Bangalore.
Prerna Prasad, founder and CEO of eco-hotel marketing firm Ecoplore, said there is a growing segment of Indians wanting such experiential stays.
“Contrary to the usual opinion that it is foreign tourists who visit these locales, [in] our experience it is Indians from the metros who want a unique experience,” she said.
Shanu Athiparambath, director of Bastiat Stays, a firm that advises owners of small hotels to market properties via homestay distributors, said the urge to stay farther afield with properties that don't adhere to the usual hotel models has grown because of social media and an increase in disposable income.
“The locals in tourist places now build properties that appeal to these travelers. There are now a lot more tree houses, domes, A-frames and mud houses,” he said.
One hotel he helped market is Whispering Pines in Jibhi.
The owner, Daleep Singh, said his inspiration to create such a property came from his uncle who built a property on his return to a trip to England, but in a country as vast as India, he needed specialist help to reach guests.
Singh said he set up two cottages and one tree house on his land. He was lucky to have Athiparambath as one guest, who helped him market his property and reach full occupancy and repeat bookings.
Singh added he is now seeing many such properties spring up in his region.
“It is very commercially viable. … Today, there are over 400 such properties in our area. We also guide other villagers in building such spaces," he said.
Prasad also has seen increased metrics.
“Excluding the two years of COVID, we have seen 10% growth every year. The average size of the property with us is 10 to 11 rooms, and it ranges from four to 30 rooms. But these are not rooms in [the] conventional sense like hotels but more like cottages, tree houses. We have an inventory of 12,000 rooms. We get about 30 queries every day, with a conversion rate of 20%,” she said.
Rajeev Balakrishnan, owner of Aura Kalari, which combines a mud house and a tree house, said building mud houses started as a passion.
“Now, I feel there is a lot of potential in it. … It was made primarily as a residency for foreigners who were to come to learn Kalaripayattu, a traditional martial art form from Kerala. The residency did not happen, so I stepped into the hospitality segment,” he said.
Where there’s mud, there’s money
The commonality in all such buildings is that they are built drawing inspiration from local architecture, using mud, stones, wood and bamboo, sources said.
Others have restored heritage properties in ways that maximize energy efficiency.
Suchita Bhat, owner of hotel Eco-Hamlet, said not every guest looking for escape needs to go far into the backroads of India. Bhat's property is in Kamshet, 45 kilometers from Pune.
Balakrishnan, a civil engineer by trade, said there are more than 50 techniques of building in mud in India.
He said the one he used for Aura Kalari comprises mud, jaggery (unrefined sugar) and myrobalan (a fruit-bearing tree).
Authenticity comes from using what is around the hotel or villa, sources said, and it is this authenticity that attracts guests and aids sustainability.
Singh said he uses stone, wood, mud, oak and pine, while Bhat said water from a spring running through the property cools the house without the need for air conditioning.
Athiparambath said good distribution and management of such properties result in between 80% and 90% occupancy.
“A talented host can earn about three times what [was] spent on his property, but the large majority of owners earn a modest income,” he said.
Aura Kalari’s Balakrishnan said his good fortune has encouraged him to expand.
“The model "is commercially viable," he said. He is exploring building more mud houses as a resort.
"I have just finished two such homes in Denkanikottai (on the outskirts of Bangalore) on a five-acre farm. I will be managing the property as well. Agriculture farms can build such units for additional income,” he said.
Bhat said she has seen completely full weekends.
“Such a property is commercially viable if it is run and maintained well. In my view, the investment cost, excluding the land value, can be easily recovered in a couple of years,” she said.
Others said covering costs across four years is in their experience more the norm.