Blog

  • Verified malnad homestays for nature holidays in Karnataka

    Verified Homestays in Malnad Region

    We are living in a world where there is little spare time left for us to spend time with nature. Though we all crave to set aside some quality time to spend amidst nature even for a weekend sometimes get impossible. How do we plan a short or long break from what we do and where do we find such a peaceful place? All these answers are delivered in the form of malnad homestays services offered by Travel Malnad®. Nature is like a philosopher and friend among us with a purity of love towards all creatures living in its care. Human beings would assume themselves the smartest creature on earth with access to all luxury lifestyles. However, without nature, you cannot just imagine a life existing on this earth. It has all the power to create or destroy anything on earth.

    Homestays in Malnad

    Coming to malnad homestays in Karnataka we are sure of the fact that we have created a lot of happy minds who have visited us as casual travelers. Our services are designed in such a way that your trip time is not just spent on sightseeing but for several relaxation exercises. Our homestays in malnad are serving guests since 2005. We have evolved with time by taking most of the feedbacks of our patrons and turned it into action in our services. This mindset has helped us come up with more services added to the list along with fine-tuning some of the basic hospitality services we offer. Today, we are standing at a point where we know the pulse of every travel fully aware of what is the most important thing to include in their itinerary.

    Book malnad homestays online

    Malnad homestays are relevant for travelers who would like to explore places while indulging in activities in the lap of nature. Most of the stays in malnad are located amidst coffee, tea, areca estates, or plantations. You can imagine the natural surroundings it offers you to refresh, relax, and rejuvenate. There are a lot of stays which also offer adventure tourism as part of their packages. We have categorized the homestays based on the services offered along with the quality of rooms. It helps our visitors to compare quotes & facilities before making a final choice to book. Our USP is the compare facility with the most up-to-date prices for your trip planner. You can save a lot of time & money by doing a booking at Travel Malnad®. Our repeat visitors get more discounts every time they book a stay on our portal. You can book online with only partial payments to get reservations without any hassles. No fees for any of our booking services offered at TravelMalnad.com.

  • Responsible tourism in Malnad region of Karnataka and the role of homestays

    Covid 19 and Homestays in Karnataka

    The impact of COVID 19 on the economy of India has not left the tourism sector which is one of the worst-hit industries by the pandemic. There is a lot of philosophy talks about the revival of the tourism sector in Karnataka. We are today speaking about responsible tourism in the Malnad region of Karnataka and the role of homestays. We are not insulated to climate change which is an ongoing process all over the world. If you closely look at the implications of climate change in Karnataka it has not spared the rural parts either. We have to pledge for sustainable business models built on the strong foundations of responsible tourism. It is very important to consider the contributions of local communities in preserving, developing the green zones in the Malnad region.

    The activities of tourism should be such that it becomes an enabling feature in the overall growth of the environment and people around us. Tourism has always a mixed reputation for conservation. We cannot deny the fact that we human beings have destroyed natural habitats for developing sites required for tourism activities. We have failed to allocate the same place elsewhere for nature to grow on its own. Encroachments of forest lands or even reserved revenue lands have been ignored by officials. As the pandemic brought tourism activities to a standstill it’s the best time to allow nature to revive on its own.

    Responsible Tourism in Malnad Region

    Responsible tourism expects visitors to be more mindful about residents adhering to the responsibilities of guests. It is a very unscientific approach to carry out intrusions to habitats in nature in the name of ‘night camping’ or ‘day camping’ in forests. We need not have to create intrusion to other habitats to find some leisure time or have fun for ourselves. It will be too selfish to do so, there are a lot of unregistered businesses illegally taking people to forests by just doing social media postings and luring adventure seekers. We cannot blame them because we as guests are not fully aware of a lot of things. We think everything sold online is cheap & value for money and would attribute it as commercial. At least the homestays in Malnad listed under Travel Malnad® are responsible for carrying out ethical tourism activities since 2005. Once we started using their services we realized how blessed we are to have the magnificent power of nature around us. When we travel next time to Malnad let’s not forget that because we have paid to stay at a hotel or do trekking we cannot take nature for granted.

  • SOPs for homestays in Karnataka as new normal sets in travel world

    Karnataka has a long list of homestays known for hospitality services that we all love to experience during our holidays. Recent lockdown for Covid 19 has made domestic travellers inaccessible to these homestays. As the government relaxed lockdown norms with guidelines for homestays they have slowly started opening up for guests. There is a new environment for both the staff & visiting guests at Karnataka homestays listed under Travel Malnad®. The need of the hour is to respect the new protocols to make sure it’s a safe atmosphere free of virus for the guests. Keeping this reality in mind state government has also chalked out detailed SOPs for homestays owners.

    It might sound little restrictive compared to the carefree travel world used to offer in our previous visits to these same destinations. It will be a necessity way forward to have a safe surroundings at your holiday location. Local authorities are not leaving any stone unturned to have a clarity as to how the homestays operate responsibly as they are mostly in rural / remote locations. Stopping the spread of virus to rural India is a responsibility of all stake holders of tourism industry.

    Some of the quick guidelines you as an owner of a homestay in Karnataka must know and adhere to are as follows:

    • Thermal screening of all guests who enter your premises
    • Hand Sanitizers and Hand wash facility at all common areas and in-room
    • All staff and guests must adhere to Social Distancing
    • No staff should be allowed from containment zone
    • Thorough sanitization of rooms before giving to guests and after they check out
    • Food served as buffet and contactless
    • Hand gloves and head gear along with masks for staff serving at your place.
    • Masks mandatory for all guests

    Together we can stop the spread of virus.

  • 10 reasons for choosing Travel Malnad® home stays for your trip

    There are several reasons why homestays in Malnad Karnataka attract hundreds of thousand visitors every year. We have tried to highlight few important reasons for travelers to select a home stay for their accommodation.

    1. Rural / Countryside: The homestays listed under Travel Malnad® are in countryside or remote locations. You will be away from the maddening crowds of city environment.
    2. Estate Stays: Travel Malnad® is one of the pioneers in Karnataka who started taking guests to estate stays since 2005. You will get to explore a destination by staying at a homestay and experience planter’s life.
    3. Limited Crowd at the Stay: Yes, this has been one of the USPs at our stays for you. You need not have to worry about multiple groups and confusion in buffet preference. We have stays for you given as exclusive villas, cottages or full bungalow.
    4. Agri-Tourism in Focus: Travel Malnad® is a Malnad based out company having its founders from agriculture backgrounds. The young team is been striving to introduce more people to agriculture through its tourism initiatives. Lot of travelers have loved our Agri-tourism packages in Malnad Karnataka.
    5. Ease of Booking: The booking process is kept simple & quick for guests whether they are travelling from India or abroad.
    6. Compare Quotes: Travel Malnad® has the most seamless compare facility for you to understand the quotes & facilities before making a booking.
    7. Group activities: To engage your big gang of friends and colleagues we have introduced several activities including swimming pool at our listed homestays.
    8. Sightseeing packages: There is sightseeing facilities and trekking trips organised from the homestays. Apart from complimentary activities you may have to pay extra for long distance sightseeing trips.
    9. Easy Cancellation / Date Modification: Travel Malnad® has kept it simple from the beginning for guests to easily cancel their bookings or modify date of visit to Malnad Homestays.
    10. 24 Hours Check in – Check Out: Most of the stays at Travel Malnad® are instructed for 24 hours check in and check out to make trip experience for our guests most comfortable. You need not have to check out in a hurry sticking to stringent timings.
  • What changes to expect at homestays in Karnataka in the new normal

    The tourism department & state government of Karnataka recently hinted at the opening of hotels and lodging. Many travelers who have been visiting homestays in Karnataka as their leisure getaway have several questions on their mind. Travel Malnad® has tried to answer several queries of guests and hosts at homestays in recent blogs. As we all are aware of the fact that the virus is not gone, it will be there with us for couple of months or may be years.

    How do we prepare ourselves to face ‘the new normal’ in tourism sector is the big challenge for all stake holders.
    If have to take for example homestay in malnad, they are mostly located in the estates, forest region and in a typical rural set up. The owners or hosts at the homestays must be fully prepared for a clear-cut hygiene protocol & period screening for both guests and the staff. It is very important for the stays to invest little money in upgrading the house keeping routines & use of relevant sanitizers. Meanwhile, the tourism department is also shortlisting the rules & regulations that has to be strictly followed by travelers and hosts.

    Some of the bear minimum practices in the new normal as identified by experts at Travel Malnad®;
    1. Use sodium hypochlorite to sanitize rooms before and after occupancy. Also should be done periodically while guests stay for extended holiday and head out for sightseeing.
    2. Along with placing in room essentials you must add masks & sanitizers.
    3. Thermal screening should be done every time people enter from outside. Also routine screening for staff at homestays.
    4. Hand gloves & head gears for staff while on duty. Train them to maintain social distancing at all time.
    5. Social distancing for guests as well while doing activities or dining at the homestay.
    6. Encourage buffet dining for guests. They can serve what they need and eat at designated seats.
    7. In case you find anyone having symptoms of cold, cough, flu and any symptoms related to Covid 19 then you must inform local authorities without hesitation.
    8. Encourage your guests to book online using portal like travelmalnad.com
    9. Maintain contact-less check in processes at your stays.
    10. Use your smart phones to collect data like, e-voucher, Aadhar or Id Card and Other Documents.

    These are few most important points to consider while planning your reopening of homestay. There could be other inputs from the tourism ministry in coming days. We will add those points to this article and republish. However, we request you all to remember at all times that we stop the spread of virus while we conduct our hospitality businesses. Together we can make the tourism sector to emerge as one of the most safe and successful industry in coming months & years.

  • Explore Thirthahalli in Karnataka for your future nature holidays

    Thirthahalli is known as the doorway to Malnad region in Karnataka. People of Thirthahalli known for their hospitality from generations to count. There were not much hotels in the ancient times, forget about any homestays which came into existences just a couple of years ago. People here are friendly & hospitable for their guests whether they were their family members or friends. Growing up in Thirthahalli, I had noticed that a lot of my elderly cousins used to get their friends from cities to show around the region. I have followed their path and my friends from different places in India & abroad visited Thirthahalli too. One common thing I noticed in many of the visitors to Thirthahalli is their love for nature & natural habitat.

    Thirthalli has a close proximity to Agumbe (Western Ghats belt) and Udupi (Coastal Karnataka) and to other temple towns around Shimoga district. This tiny taluk headquarters is well known across the country for several reasons. This place has produced many prominent writers, thinkers, politicians, socialists, sportspersons and industrialists. Being a agriculture hotspot, several crops including Arecanut is grown here. Tourism in this region took shape with several measures taken by the Government of Karnataka and local stake holders.

    Homestays in Thirthahalli is one of the major reasons for sudden boom in tourism sector. The hospitality offered at the homestays is outstanding from tourists’ perspective. Many travelers visit Thirthahalli almost every month booking their trips at Travel Malnad®. Curious to know the inspiration for these trips we did a little survey and found these facts. Nature has been the most inspiring element for human imaginations and enthusiasm for life.

    We can conclude by saying that a dream holiday is like a combination of best stays & best activities clubbed with awesome cuisine. All these factors have been one of the most important facts and driving force to keep up best service quality at Travel Malnad®. There is no compromise with stays that do not maintain high standards of hygiene whether during food preparation or at housekeeping. In the past we have delisted couple of stays for their ignorant behaviours and unacceptable service standards. If you are looking for Thirthahalli homestays then we request you to explore options at Travel Malnad®.

     

     

  • Malnad Holidays at countryside cottages in Karnataka by Travel Malnad®

    Yes, we agree that now that the hospitality business has stopped operations it has not left Malnad areas. Due to COVID 19, the whole world has seen this as a growing & developing opportunity. Hospitality providers in the Malnad region have en-cashed the lock-down to improve their service standards. Some have invested time & money in upgrading their infrastructure with more amenities. There are few agri-tourism stays contributing to our Malnad Holidays packages from 2005 and they have included few more activities to their list in the COVID Lockdown time.

    When you visit Malnad in the future for a holiday it will be a more fun-filled experience than ever before. Your trip will be a renewed experience with refreshing activities & organic food to tickle your taste buds. There were challenges to keep staff engaged, give them a salary without any revenues. Besides all shortcomings, the hospitality sector in Malnad is more blessed because of its agricultural activities. Agriculture in Malnad has not stopped. Which is why we always call Malnad a prosperous region. Some stays are ready to accept guests with all safety & hygiene measures. They are waiting to get an approval and official nod from the state government to start their operations.

    Explore Malnad holiday packages are designed by Travel Malnad® and catering to lakhs of visitors to Malnad every year. However, there are a lot of shady business owners who tried to either copy our intellectual property, trademark, service themes. They have been dealt with time to time under relevant laws with a hefty penalty for misuse & infringement of our trademarks & intellectual property.

    So we request all our guests to make bookings with Travel Malnad® only at the travelmalnad.com website or our official social pages. We have a certain yardstick for delivering only the best holiday experiences. We request you to use only Travel Malnad® branded content & listings to get the best malnad trip experience in Karnataka. Our team is proud to announce to our users & guests that we have a guest loyalty of close to 90%. They trust us for a reason and we appreciate it and deliver more than we promise. Remember, holiday in Malnad is not just about a ‘room booking’ or a ‘stay’ or ‘discount deals’. It’s like a philosophy to us that we as a team ‘always strive to give only the best Malnad Holidays Experience’ to our guests. Try our services for your future travel to Karnataka.

  • The dynamics of Homestays and Hotels Business will change post Covid 19

    Covid 19 in India has changed how we look at the travel and hospitality industry in India. We are still looking at the future in what shape, form and structure the ‘new normal’ of hospitality industry will restart operations. There are speculations about a lot of things which many of the stake holders & experts are not yet clear. The general perception is that driving destinations like ones listed in portals like Travel Malnad® will be apt options for experiential holidays in Karnataka. However, the dynamics of how we look at things will be different once the post Covid 19 lockdown travel begins.

    We must be always aware of the fact that Covid 19 virus will be in the world for more duration than we all can imagine. So, what next for tourism industry in Karnataka? How to enhance our hygiene measures at our stays? These big questions are weighing on the minds of homestays, hotels, resorts, restaurant owners, travel agents, tour operators, vehicle owners in Karnataka. We all must understand that our guests will be equally worried, cautious and skeptic about the environment around them when they travel and choose a stay. To create a comfort zone for all stake holders in the tourism sector, we must include inputs from experts, government, local authorities and your conscience about the cleanliness before starting the operations.

    We keep hearing from people that there will be a ‘New Normal’. To be very honest with you, there is no clear-cut definition of this phrase. Having said that, we cannot shoot in the dark without implementing necessary steps in this direction. If you want to learn more about how to include some of the safety and hygiene measures at your stay you must read Travel Malnad® blogs. We have given detailed information as to what to expect in coming days in the travel and hospitality sector.

  • How to restart homestays business in Karnataka post Covid

    We have been receiving this question from all quarters regarding the safety measures to kick start homestays business post covid 19. It will be naive if we say there is a deadline date to end Covid and post that there is no need to worry at all. The virus will be in our country for another few months and can be for a couple of years. We have to accept the reality of the ‘new normal’ for the tourism industry and start practicing all safety measures while we travel or host guests at our stays.

    The homestays in Malnad are no exception to this ‘new normal. If we are hosting the guests once the government gives a green signal then you as a host have a lot of responsibility. You need to relook at how your hygiene and housekeeping processes are practiced.

    There could be protocols guided by the government to follow before you accept guests at the premises. It may sound like a lengthy process but to be on the safer side for both host and guest it is mandatory. You can utilize this time now to refurbish, renovate or innovate your homestays business and get ready to host your guest.

    We are outlining few of the hygiene measures you can imagine in the ‘new normal’ to keep virus-free premises.

    1. Thermal screening at the entrance for every guest and even their drivers. Sanitize the vehicles before they enter your gates.
    2. Sanitizers at every doorstep of rooms. If it’s contactless usage with a leg pump, which is available in the market will be safer.
    3. Collect their id proofs and history of travel to maintain as a record for future checks by authorities.
    4. If they have already recovered from Covid then seek for hospital medical certificate before bookings.
    5. Social distancing at your restaurant or common areas like a campfire area should be maintained.
    6. Mandate the use of masks and hand gloves for your staff.
    7. Mandate use of masks for guests at premises.
    8. Keep sanitizing the areas once used by guests.
    9. Keep sanitizing all sports equipment after usage.
    10. Train your staff members about the ‘new normal’ and importance of keeping your premises hygienic.
    11. Teamwork with the co-operation of your guests will be the only way out for a safe and virus-free holiday experience.

     

    PLEASE NOTE: These points are consolidated collecting from our travel experts from all over Karnataka. You must wait for the Tourism Department, State Government Karnataka, and Government of India to give further instructions.

  • How to plan unplanned Covid 19 lean period for hospitality sector

    The hotel & hospitality industry is facing the brunt of this unpredictable Covid 19 lockdown that has affected the global travel industry. Though it’s an unexpected situation for the industry we need to identify some of the positive things we can do during these testing times. The hospitality industry will not be the same again post Covid 19 and we all have to embrace the new normal.

    Every brand in the hotel industry & every host at homestays and resorts is looking where to begin? It may be a difficult time but by looking inward for growth strategies we can come up with awesome solutions.

    Some of the hotels are worried about how to team up the workforce as some of their skilled staff have already migrated back to their villages. Others are worried about how to pay salaries without any business for these 3-4 months that have piled up bank interests and rental burdens on the costing.

    Those who are operational with a cloud kitchen catering to online orders have adapted to new hygiene requirements. Challenges were there for hospitality and there will be more in the coming months and years. We should not lose hope & collectively come up with strategies to start functioning.

    How can the staff and management plan to utilize the current lean period?
    1. Upskill your staff: There are different ways to invest time in learn new soft skills and educate oneself & focus on personal growth. Do R&D at your kitchens (abiding social distancing) to come with a new menu or plan to introduce more hygiene at preparations for your kitchen staff.
    2. Infrastructure: Since the constructions activities can resume now, finish those pending refurbishment, construction, and design work. You will be ready with a fresh look once your customers are starting to visit you.
    3. Learn new leadership skills and absorb content and training on emotional intelligence. You will be a more polished person to approach your peers.
    4. Introduce tech & innovations: You will need digital check-ins, smart apps in rooms to give seamless service to your guests. Your elevators need a hygienic atmosphere for people to use them safely.
    5. Customize your staycations and food beverage promotions. Your brand will be trusted with people loving to see your proactive measures to host the guests safely and hygienically at their premises.
    6. Make sure your guests and team members’ safety is the paramount responsibility, cost and profits come later as the virus threat will be there for a longer period than we all imagine.
    7. Reach out to your existing customers about the initiative taken by you at your stays to create awareness. The standards of hygiene have leveled up in the tourism sector, it’s important we act now and also create awareness for our guests.

    Please Note: Travel Malnad® Homestays and Resorts booking will be open once the lockdown is released with a government green signal on accepting guests at hotels and homestays establishments. You need to follow local administration guidelines about social distancing and lockdown.