Guest house

Guest House Altmõisa in Estonia. Tuuru village

In some areas of the world, guest houses are the only kind of accommodation available for visitors who have no local relatives to stay with. Among the features which distinguish a guest house from a hotel, or inn is the lack of a full-time staff.

Bed and breakfasts and guest houses in England are family owned and the family live on the premises though family members are not normally available during the evening. However most family members work a 10- to 12-hour day from 6am as they may employ part-time service staff. Hotels maintain a staff presence 24 hours a day and 7 days a week, whereas a guest house has a more limited staff presence. Because of limited staff presence, check in at a guest house is often by appointment. An inn also usually has a restaurant attached.

In India, a tremendous growth can be seen in the guest house business especially in Delhi-NCR (national capital region) where progress in IT sector and Commonwealth Games 2010 were two most influential factor. Nowadays guest house accommodation sector has improved itself a lot. Even a home converted guest house is also offering 3 stars equivalent facilities to its guests.

People living in a paying guest house can be from different states and cultures so one who lives in PG accommodation often choose these good points so that their life become easy and comfortable.

• Sharing and adjustments
• Acknowledging the small matters
• Exchanging of contact numbers
• Keeping focus on study
• Using of eye band and ear plugs
• Participating in get-together
• Safety check

Generally there are two variations of paying guest house:

1. Home converted guest house
2. Professionally run guest house with all necessary amenities and staff

In the first version of the guest house the guest probably has to live with a family where they get shelter and food (bed and breakfast) only and for rest of the jobs like washing of clothes and utensils, cleaning of room or area around their bed is to be done by the guest. In the second version, the guest receives the all necessary amenities which are required to live life comfortably like a fully furnished room, comfortable bed, air-conditioner, TV, hot and cold water supply and also one important aspect, security.

A big plus point of a professionally run paying guest accommodation service is that the owner follows the safety norms set by their local government. Some of the important safety points are:

• Fire safety with regular fire drills
• Disaster management
• Updated safety equipments
• Information sign boards for guests and staff
• Government certifications

Look up guest house in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• Dharamshala (type of building)
• Hotel
• Ryokan
• Secondary suite