Incredible India Bed & Breakfast Scheme: Approval and Registration

The Ministry of Tourism classifies fully operational rooms in home-stay facilities as “Incredible India Bed & Breakfast (B&B) Establishments”. The scheme exists to add standardised, inspected accommodation in the metros and at tourist destinations, and to give visitors the option of staying with an Indian family rather than in a hotel.

The idea is a clean, affordable room, and for foreign tourists in particular the chance to experience Indian customs, traditions and home cooking at first hand.

The two classifications

For the purposes of registration, approved establishments are categorised as:

• Silver
• Gold

The category awarded depends on the facilities and services the property offers, assessed against the standards set out in the scheme's own guidelines.

How approval works

A Regional Classification Committee inspects and assesses each establishment, judging it on the facilities and services provided. The detailed standards, the facilities expected at each level, and the documents required for approval are all specified in the scheme guidelines.

What approval gets you

Once approved by the Ministry of Tourism, an establishment is publicised through the scheme, and included in a directory of approved properties intended to help domestic and foreign tourists find them. The Ministry has also indicated it will arrange short-term hospitality training for operators who want it.

Registering in your own state

This is the national scheme. In practice most owners register under their state homestay or B&B policy, and those differ from one another far more than people expect — particularly on the question of whether the owner has to live in the property.

• Kerala — graded Diamond, Gold or Silver, but only where the owner and family physically reside in the house. Leased property is excluded.
• Goa — the one that explicitly accommodates the non-resident owner, through a separate Bed & Breakfast category where a designated operator lives on site.
• Maharashtra — run through MTDC, which does not publish its criteria openly.
• Karnataka — rules and norms for operating a homestay in the state.
• Uttarakhand — the state scheme that lets homeowners register and earn from the tourism trade.
• Himachal Pradesh — where the state has offered exemptions on land-use change, luxury tax and commercial electricity charges.

If you are weighing states against one another, the residence condition is the one to check first: it decides most cases before any other criterion matters.

The full national guidelines are published by the Ministry of Tourism, and the scheme has been revised since it was introduced — confirm the current standards and documentation with the Ministry or your state tourism department before applying. Nothing here is legal advice.