Bed,breakfast & healthcare

Znwar adds,“Hotels can be too expensive while guesthouses and dharamshalas are not up to the mark. So serviced apartments and bed & breakfast facilities have become a preferred option — provided they are hygenic,close to the hospital,can meet the guests’ special food requirements and have lifts.” As for the cost,Znwar says that while a decent hotel room may cost anything upwards of Rs 2,500 a night,a corresponding 1BHK apartment in South Delhi,for example,may come for Rs 45,000 a month.

The medical tourism industry in India has a potential to contribute around 25 per cent to the country’s GDP over the next five years,according to a report by the Indian Medical Tourism Conference and Alliance. The boom is happening in other Asian countries as well — including Malaysia,Singapore and Thailand — and experts point out that a lack of suitable accommodation is one of the key factors that India might be losing out to its competitors.

Hospitals realise this and most of them have set up their international patient help desks for the purpose. Sulagno Basu,Manager,International Guest Care,Moolchand Medcity,New Delhi,says,“We try and offer a comprehensive programme to meet the special needs of our international patients — assisting them with airport pickups,meals,translators,billing and any special needs. In case of assisting them with staying here for longer duration,we help provide them accommodation matching their budget in the vicinity.”

Some independent players are also jumping in the fray to act as mediators for customised accommodation solutions. Mohini Tripathi,Reservation Manager at Ratedapartments.com,an online portal that coordinates short term holiday rentals and serviced apartments,says,“We have just launched our services in India and we must admit that medical tourists consume a lot of service apartments available in India now. There is a huge demand in Gurgaon,since no less than 15 per cent expats come there for treatment and in south Delhi. Besides Delhi/NCR,Bangalore is also big on medical tourism.”

Tripathi says the big corporate players offering service apartments in India are Fraser Suites and Ascott in Delhi,and Oakwood Asia in Bangalore. Besides,a lot of individual owners also get a huge chunk of the marketshare — since their prices are fairly negotiable and guests also like to become a part of an already bustling residential area. Znwar adds,“For example,many of those who had registered as bed and breakfast service providers during the Commonwealth Games are now registered with us to offer their flats to medical tourists.”

But does this mean that hotels have suffered a setback? “Not really,because so many leisure travellers and holidayers are coming to India now that we would,in any case,like to concentrate less on medical guests,” says the manager of a hotel in the vicinity of major hospitals in Delhi,who doesn’t want to be named. “Our European guests are normally very finicky about acquired infections and would not like to share the premises with patients”. Also,he says,medical tourists demand emergency assistance,which gets tough for a hotel hosting different classes of guests.

Znwar says the serviced apartments are also a big draw in that sense since they can be customised as per requirements. “Families can cook their own food as per medical advice or taste,there can be nurses or hospice facilities if required,outside guests can visit them freely,and most importantly,there is a lot of privacy and a homely atmosphere,which is what is most required in such cases.”