After so much effort had to be put in to acquire this homestay certificate, had to hang it for all to see. Quite an achievement I would say!
We have been operating our homestay post-COVID (since mid-2020). But then our home was not even complete and we were operating with a single room for guests. Although the registration of the property with Uttarakhand Tourism was the first thing we had in our minds, we however waited for all the rooms to be completed in accordance to the department’s requirements.
We finally applied in 2021, but somehow the process died a natural death as is reminiscent to government procedures which require coordination of several departments not related to the state’s tourism department. But we didn’t lose hope. With renewed vigor we again applied in the month of March 2022. We met a kind soul in the department who walked us through the required paperwork and assured that the certificate would be issued in a week’s time. When that didn’t happen he went incommunicado and till date he hasn’t picked my calls. A year passed and nothing happened. After I visited their office I came to know that the documents were in some other office, interestingly, awaiting for my visit.
After the inspection of the property, in which they couldn’t find anything lacking because ours was truly a homestay unlike many operating without even complying with the most basic guidelines.
Nevertheless after several calls to countless officials, I finally got hold of the certificate in June this year. So much sweat and resources went into procuring the certificate, I thought I should frame and hang it in some location visible to all our guests and visitors. Can simply say that in this year’s fruit season, the Uttarakhand homestay certification of Katie’s Abode, Hartola was a true fruit of labour.
