Uttar Pradesh Bed and Breakfast / Homestay Scheme Incentives

What is the Uttar Pradesh Bed and Breakfast / Homestay Scheme?

The Uttar Pradesh Bed and Breakfast / Homestay Scheme is run by the Department of Tourism, Government of Uttar Pradesh, and is set out as a full chapter of the Uttar Pradesh Tourism Policy 2022. The scheme lets an ordinary family that owns and lives in a house in Uttar Pradesh register a small number of its rooms as paid tourist accommodation, and then treats that house as a residential property rather than as a commercial hotel.

According to the UP Tourism portal, the aim is to give domestic and foreign tourists "clean and affordable" accommodation where they can experience Indian customs and traditions and eat authentic home-cooked Indian food. The scheme is conceptualised under the Incredible India "Atithi Devo Bhava" campaign, so the Uttar Pradesh scheme sits directly on top of the Ministry of Tourism's national Bed and Breakfast framework rather than replacing it.

The Tourism Policy 2022 describes Bed and Breakfast and homestay as "the backbone of rural tourism, agriculture tourism and farm stays", and as a practical answer to the shortage of tourist rooms in places where no investor will build a hotel. Uttar Pradesh has a very large number of pilgrimage and heritage towns, Ayodhya, Varanasi, Prayagraj, Chitrakoot, Naimisharanya, Kushinagar, Mathura and Vrindavan among them: where visitor peaks are enormous and hotel capacity is small. Homestay registration is how the state adds rooms in those towns without building anything.

The scheme was substantially reworked in 2025. The Uttar Pradesh Homestay and Bed and Breakfast Policy 2025 was notified on 9 June 2025 and has since been amended by government orders dated 25 August 2025 and 7 February 2026, with a consolidated government order issued in 2026 and published on uptourism.gov.in. Readers should treat the 2022 policy chapter as the framework and the 2025 policy plus its amendments as the operating rules on room limits, registration term and renewal.

What benefits does a registered homestay get?

The Tourism Policy 2022 lists eight benefits for registered establishments, and none of them is a cash payment. The value is in cost relief and free marketing:

• Domestic electricity tariff. Registered establishments are charged domestic rates for electricity, not commercial rates. On a house running air-conditioners for guests, this is the single largest saving.
• Domestic water tax. Registered establishments are charged domestic rates for water tax.
• Residential category retained. The establishment continues to be treated as residential and non-commercial, which protects it from commercial property tax and from commercial building bylaws.
• Single-window, time-bound approvals for establishments applying under the scheme.
• Marketing support through listings on the department's website, journals, publications and mobile application.
• Directional signage placed by the department along highways and at major tourist spots.
• Aggregator-led training, where the department may appoint aggregators to train homestay operators, write standard operating procedures and conduct safety and security audits.
• Short-term training in the hospitality trade for operators who want it.

The UP Tourism scheme page adds that once the Ministry of Tourism approves an establishment, it is publicised and included in an official directory that tourists can search.

Who is eligible for the homestay and B&B scheme?

You can register if:

• You own the residential house being registered, in Uttar Pradesh.
• You or your family actually live in that house. Bed and Breakfast is defined as letting rooms in an occupied residence, so the host must be present.
• You are letting rooms to tourists on payment for boarding and lodging, the scheme covers paid accommodation, not free hosting.
• The house meets the facility, hygiene and safety standards the Regional Classification Committee inspects against, including clean lettable rooms with bathrooms and a hygienic kitchen.
• You are willing to hold the registration in the residential or non-commercial category and keep the number of let rooms within the limit fixed by the Homestay and B&B Policy 2025.

You cannot apply, or are not eligible, if:

• You do not own the property, or the owner does not live in it, a purely commercial lodge, guest house or hotel is not eligible under this scheme and must register as a tourism unit instead.
• The premises is already a commercial hotel, dharamshala or paying-guest hostel on a commercial connection.
• You want to exceed the room ceiling in the policy. Beyond that ceiling the property is a hotel, and hotel rules, commercial tariffs and fire and building approvals apply.
• You have not first obtained the Ministry of Tourism registration on nidhi.nic.in. UP Tourism does not issue its certificate without it.

The Tourism Policy 2022 keeps two related but separate categories that are not the same as an ordinary homestay. A Heritage Homestay must be built before 1950 and operate at least 2 to 4 rooms, and it qualifies as an eligible tourism unit for capital subsidy. A Rural Homestay must have a minimum of one lettable room and a maximum of six lettable rooms, and follows the Ministry of Tourism Bed and Breakfast specifications. Both go through the departmental screening route and the State Level Special Tourism Committee, not the simple homestay registration route.

What documents are required for homestay registration?

How to apply for the Uttar Pradesh homestay and B&B registration

1. Open the Ministry of Tourism's NIDHI portal at nidhi.nic.in and create an account as an accommodation service provider.
2. Register your establishment under the Bed and Breakfast / Homestay category, entering the address, the number of lettable rooms, bathroom and kitchen details, and the tariff you intend to charge.
3. Upload the ownership proof, identity proof, layout plan and photographs of every room you are offering.
4. Wait for the inspection. The Regional Classification Committee visits the house, assesses the facilities and services against the scheme guidelines and recommends the Silver or Gold grade.
5. Collect the registration certificate issued by the Ministry of Tourism once approval comes through.
6. Submit that Ministry certificate on the UP Tourism website. UP Tourism then issues its own certificate, and that state certificate is the document used to claim the scheme benefits.
7. Take the UP Tourism certificate to your electricity distribution company and the Jal Sansthan / Nagar Nigam so that your connection is billed at domestic rates and your property stays in the residential category.
8. Renew the registration before it expires, using the renewal or auto-renewal route in the Homestay and B&B Policy 2025.

How to apply offline or get help

1. Visit the Directorate of Tourism, Uttar Pradesh, Rajarshi Purushottam Das Tandon Paryatan Bhavan, C-13 Vipin Khand, Gomti Nagar, Lucknow.
2. Or approach the Regional Tourist Officer for your division. The Regional Tourist Officer is the Member Secretary of the regional committee that inspects homestay applications, so this is the correct local office.
3. Write to dg-upt@up.gov.in with your application reference for a written response.

How do I check my homestay application status?

Check status first on nidhi.nic.in, where the Ministry of Tourism application shows as submitted, under inspection, approved or returned for clarification. After Ministry approval, the state-side status sits with the Regional Tourist Officer of your division and with the Directorate of Tourism in Lucknow. Keep the NIDHI application number; every follow-up at the divisional office will ask for it.

Why homestay applications get rejected

• Owner does not live in the house. This is the most common reason. A vacant property let out entirely is a lodge, not a B&B.
• Room count above the policy ceiling, which pushes the property into hotel classification.
• Ministry of Tourism registration missing. UP Tourism will not issue a state certificate on a state application alone.
• No attached or dedicated bathroom for the lettable rooms, or a kitchen that fails the hygiene check.
• Commercial electricity or water connection already taken on the premises.
• Ownership document mismatch — the name on the registry does not match the identity proof, usually after an inheritance that was never mutated.

Most rejections are curable. Fix the specific defect noted by the classification committee and resubmit rather than starting a fresh application.

Key dates and policy period

The Uttar Pradesh Tourism Policy 2022 came into effect on 23 November 2022 and remains in force for 5 years or until substituted. The Uttar Pradesh Homestay and Bed and Breakfast Policy 2025 was notified on 9 June 2025 and amended by government orders dated 25 August 2025 and 7 February 2026. Registration itself is open all year; there is no application window.

Grievance redressal

• Directorate of Tourism, Uttar Pradesh, Paryatan Bhavan, C-13 Vipin Khand, Gomti Nagar, Lucknow; email dg-upt@up.gov.in.
• Regional Tourist Officer of your division, for inspection and classification disputes.
• Jansunwai. The Uttar Pradesh integrated grievance portal at jansunwai.up.nic.in, where a complaint against a department is registered and tracked with a reference number.

Registration under this scheme is a government process. No aggregator, travel platform or agent can guarantee you a Gold grade, and the classification is decided only by the departmental committee after a physical inspection.