Kerala Tourism to push for driver facilities in star-rating norms for hotels and resorts

Kerala Tourism (KT) will take up with the Centre the need to include amenities such as well-maintained washrooms and dormitories in the checklist used by the Union Tourism Ministry to issue star ratings to hotels and resorts, a senior KT official said.

This comes in the wake of a protest by drivers on Friday at a luxury hotel here, seeking properly maintained washrooms for their use.

“At present, dedicated amenities for drivers are not mandatory for hotels and resorts to obtain classification from the Central agency. Rather, the focus is on fulfilling all the mandatory criteria with regard to hosting guests who visit them for accommodation or for food. Despite this, KT and Kerala Travel Mart [KTM] Society attempted to create such infrastructure at hotels and resorts a few years ago. But much more needs to be done,” the official said.

In the absence of such amenities yet to be made part of the classification process, there are two options. One is to construct them in properties where land is available, while the other is for them to tie up with lodges or with budget hotels nearby, where drivers can stay at affordable rates, he added.

Sources in the Union Tourism Ministry confirmed that they are focussed exclusively on the infrastructure available to maximise the ‘guest experience’ at hotels and resorts. “However, local bodies have the power to insist on restrooms and other infrastructure for drivers since they issue the no-objection certificate [NOC] for such units to commence operations.”

Back in September 2024, the Kerala government had issued an order making it mandatory for tourist accommodation units to provide clean and adequate restroom facilities for tourist taxi drivers, considering the vital role they played in the tourism industry. The order was issued after then Tourism Minister convened a stakeholder meeting to discuss issues faced by drivers of tourist vehicles.

Citing the need to enforce the order, Jackson Varghese, who led a hunger strike in 2019 demanding the rights of online taxi drivers, and who served as State president of the Kerala Online Drivers’ Union, said the Government Order was binding on all four- and five-star accommodation units in Kerala. They ought to provide clean dormitory accommodation and basic infrastructure for drivers who brought or picked up guests. “With many such units not implementing the order, drivers are often forced to use washrooms in nearby shopping malls or eateries. They also have no other option but to sleep inside their cars.”

Over the past 10 years, several drivers have died after sleeping inside their cars with the air conditioning running, he said, citing cases where fuel ran out and drivers were exposed to carbon monoxide and other exhaust fumes. The situation is grave in Alappuzha, where drivers sleep beneath trees or by the roadside, after dropping off their guests who stay in houseboats, he said.