India is generally a very
unwelcoming place for
unmarried couples looking for
some privacy. Most hotels
will turn you away, without
asking any questions. So it's
a pleasant surprise when you
see someone taking a
different approach.
"Couples need a Room, not a
Judgement," reads the tagline
on the homepage of StayUncle,
a Delhi-based startup that's
challenging the country's
conservative attitude towards
pre-marital s#x.
Founded in 2014 by Blaze
Arizanov, Nandi Kumar Singh,
and Sanchit Sethi, the Delhi-
based startup began as a
general travel booking
platform, but then rebranded
itself with a business case
around unmarried couples in
September 2015. Presently it
lists couple-friendly hotels in
Delhi NCR and Mumbai.
Hotels are known to turn away
unmarried couples - according
to online travel aggregator
Cleartrip's FAQs ,
accommodation can be denied
if the guest is from the same
city, or if the couple is unable
to provide suitable ID proof. A
Reddit thread on the subject
reveals how couples must
come with a suitcase and
carry outstation ID. This may
not apply to all hotels,
especially in the 4-and 5-star
class, but it's an ugly
situation any couple would
rather avoid.
"We were a young but
unmarried couple. They didn't
allow us to stay together. And
forced us to check out. I don't
know why. We travel
throughout the country. Never
happened earlier with us.
Pathetic. Like we are in
Mughal Era," reads an online
review of an Oyo Room
situated at in Jalandar.
"There is no law that prevents
couples with local ID proof to
book a hotel just like any
other guest type. Let us repeat
that again - There is no law
that prevents couples in India
from booking an overnight
hotel stay," StayUncle's FAQs
reads.
"In the next couple of months,
our next plans for expansion
include Chennai, Kolkata, and
Bengaluru. We plan to go to
every Tier 1 city," says
Arizanov in a phone
conversation with Gadgets
360. "People have sent in
enquiries from 30 cities in a
day, asking if such a service
is available in their city.
We've had to say no, sorry,
we're not there yet, to them.
It's a bad feeling, but we've
had to go through it, and
apologise," he says.
The StayUncle platform lets
users book rooms in the hotels
that it's partnered with, and
you don't need to book for an
entire day either - it offers two
time slots you can book for,
between 10AM and 7PM, or
between 9PM and 8AM.
Hotels listed on StayUncle are
upscale high class hotels
ranging between 3-5 star,
"handpicked and rigorously
checked in terms of security
and hospitality," the FAQ
reads.
A page explains how they
choose the hotels, which
include a 50 point checklist
and a visit to the hotel. The
bootstrapped startup currently
supports bookings online and
via WhatsApp. On the website,
searches for hotels that are
couple friendly are denoted
with a graphic, and lists
amenities and package
inclusions, such as breakfast,
car parking, Wi-Fi, and air
conditioning.
An app launch is on the cards,
given a long enough timeline.
"We're lacking in technical
resources as well, an
investment would boost the
operations and technology
quickly, otherwise, it will take
its own pace. The community
will help us out in their own
way. It's for the people, most
of all," Arizanov adds.
This Delhi-Based Startup Helps Unmarried Couples Get a Room | NDTV Gadgets360.com
unwelcoming place for
unmarried couples looking for
some privacy. Most hotels
will turn you away, without
asking any questions. So it's
a pleasant surprise when you
see someone taking a
different approach.
"Couples need a Room, not a
Judgement," reads the tagline
on the homepage of StayUncle,
a Delhi-based startup that's
challenging the country's
conservative attitude towards
pre-marital s#x.
Founded in 2014 by Blaze
Arizanov, Nandi Kumar Singh,
and Sanchit Sethi, the Delhi-
based startup began as a
general travel booking
platform, but then rebranded
itself with a business case
around unmarried couples in
September 2015. Presently it
lists couple-friendly hotels in
Delhi NCR and Mumbai.
Hotels are known to turn away
unmarried couples - according
to online travel aggregator
Cleartrip's FAQs ,
accommodation can be denied
if the guest is from the same
city, or if the couple is unable
to provide suitable ID proof. A
Reddit thread on the subject
reveals how couples must
come with a suitcase and
carry outstation ID. This may
not apply to all hotels,
especially in the 4-and 5-star
class, but it's an ugly
situation any couple would
rather avoid.
"We were a young but
unmarried couple. They didn't
allow us to stay together. And
forced us to check out. I don't
know why. We travel
throughout the country. Never
happened earlier with us.
Pathetic. Like we are in
Mughal Era," reads an online
review of an Oyo Room
situated at in Jalandar.
"There is no law that prevents
couples with local ID proof to
book a hotel just like any
other guest type. Let us repeat
that again - There is no law
that prevents couples in India
from booking an overnight
hotel stay," StayUncle's FAQs
reads.
"In the next couple of months,
our next plans for expansion
include Chennai, Kolkata, and
Bengaluru. We plan to go to
every Tier 1 city," says
Arizanov in a phone
conversation with Gadgets
360. "People have sent in
enquiries from 30 cities in a
day, asking if such a service
is available in their city.
We've had to say no, sorry,
we're not there yet, to them.
It's a bad feeling, but we've
had to go through it, and
apologise," he says.
The StayUncle platform lets
users book rooms in the hotels
that it's partnered with, and
you don't need to book for an
entire day either - it offers two
time slots you can book for,
between 10AM and 7PM, or
between 9PM and 8AM.
Hotels listed on StayUncle are
upscale high class hotels
ranging between 3-5 star,
"handpicked and rigorously
checked in terms of security
and hospitality," the FAQ
reads.
A page explains how they
choose the hotels, which
include a 50 point checklist
and a visit to the hotel. The
bootstrapped startup currently
supports bookings online and
via WhatsApp. On the website,
searches for hotels that are
couple friendly are denoted
with a graphic, and lists
amenities and package
inclusions, such as breakfast,
car parking, Wi-Fi, and air
conditioning.
An app launch is on the cards,
given a long enough timeline.
"We're lacking in technical
resources as well, an
investment would boost the
operations and technology
quickly, otherwise, it will take
its own pace. The community
will help us out in their own
way. It's for the people, most
of all," Arizanov adds.
This Delhi-Based Startup Helps Unmarried Couples Get a Room | NDTV Gadgets360.com
