Listing Policy

1. Property eligibility

To be eligible for listing, a Property must:

• Be a legally-registered accommodation establishment in India operating under one of the following formats: hotel, resort, service apartment, guesthouse, hostel, or homestay registered under State tourism rules.
• Hold a valid trade licence, fire safety NOC, and either a building completion certificate or local-body occupancy certificate.
• Operate at a permanent physical address with a functional reception/front-desk capable of handling check-in within standard service hours (early morning to late night, ideally 24×7 for hourly/flexible-stay operations).
• Maintain at least one bookable room category at any given time.

Properties operating without statutory licences or in non-residential buildings without change-of-use permission will be rejected.

2. Mandatory documents at onboarding

• Trade licence issued by the local municipal authority
• Fire safety NOC issued by the State Fire Department (where required by occupancy class)
• Building completion certificate or occupancy certificate, OR a local-body acknowledgement that the building is compliant
• FSSAI licence — required where any food and beverage is served
• Liquor licence — required where alcoholic beverages are sold or served (Form L-1, L-3, FL-3, or equivalent State licence)
• Pollution control consent — under the Air Act, 1981 and Water Act, 1974, where applicable
• GST registration certificate (where turnover exceeds threshold)
• PAN of the entity
• Cancelled cheque or bank verification letter for the Indian bank account where settlements will be remitted
• Authorisation letter from the property owner (if the listing entity is a manager, lessee, or franchisee)

Documents are uploaded via the IMS onboarding wizard and verified by Operations. Listings remain in DRAFT state until verification completes.

3. Photograph standards

• Minimum five (5) photographs per Property: exterior, reception, one room category interior, bathroom, and one amenity (gym, pool, restaurant, lobby, etc.).
• Photographs must be of the listed Property only. Stock images, borrowed images, or computer-generated renders are not permitted.
• Minimum resolution 1280 × 720 pixels; landscape orientation preferred for cover images.
• Photographs must be representative of current condition. Where the Property has undergone material renovation, fresh photographs must be uploaded within 30 days.
• Watermarks, third-party logos, or contact information overlaid on the image are not permitted.
• StayByHours reserves the right to commission a free professional photoshoot at any Property; the resulting images shall be jointly usable.

4. Property name & description

• The Property name on the Platform shall match the name on the trade licence.
• The description shall be factual: amenities, location, distance landmarks, room types, hourly slot availability. Marketing superlatives that cannot be substantiated (“best hotel”, “number one”, “5-star experience”) are not permitted unless backed by official classification.
• Star-rating claims may only be made if the Property holds a current classification certificate from the Hotel and Restaurant Approval and Classification Committee (HRACC) of the Ministry of Tourism.
• Distance to airport, railway station, or landmarks shall be accurate to within 1 km.

5. Pricing transparency

• Rates listed on the Platform are exclusive of GST. Applicable GST is calculated separately and shown to the Guest before payment, and the resulting total is the full price of the booked stay. Hidden charges, mandatory tips, mandatory service charges, or compulsory add-ons collected at the Property are prohibited.
• Optional add-ons (extra bed, late checkout, breakfast, airport transfer) shall be clearly disclosed with their incremental price before booking confirmation.
• Where local body or government levies are added at check-in (e.g., a State-mandated tourism fee that cannot be pre-collected), the Property page must disclose this in advance with the indicative amount.
• Rate parity is enforced across the Partner’s direct channel and the Platform for an equivalent stay duration.

6. Amenity claims

Each amenity ticked during onboarding must be available and functional at the time of Guest stay. The following amenity disputes are treated as service failures:

• Air-conditioning advertised but not functional in booked room
• Wi-Fi advertised as “free” but charged or non-functional
• Hot water advertised but unavailable
• Pool, gym, restaurant, or other shared facility advertised as available but closed during the Guest’s stay duration (without prior disclosure on the Property page)
• Parking advertised but unavailable or charged when listed as free

7. Hourly & flexible-stay specifics

• Properties opting in to hourly/flexible-stay (anytime check-in / anytime check-out) inventory shall publish minimum and maximum slot durations and adhere to them.
• Same-day flexibility windows (e.g., 3-hour, 6-hour, 12-hour slots) must be operationally supported by housekeeping turn-around time.
• Couples (married or unmarried) with valid government photo identification shall be admitted without restriction. Refusal of check-in to unmarried couples on grounds of marital status is not permitted on the Platform and is treated as a material breach of these terms.
• Single-occupancy bookings by Indian nationals with valid ID shall be honoured. Where local regulation requires additional verification (e.g., police hotel rules), the same shall be applied uniformly to all Guests.
• ID verification at check-in is mandatory. The Property shall accept any government-issued photo ID (Aadhaar, voter ID, passport, driving licence, PAN card). Aadhaar should be masked where possible per UIDAI guidance.

8. Prohibited content & practices

The following are strictly prohibited:

• Listing content that is obscene, defamatory, hateful, or promotes illegal activity
• Discriminatory check-in policies based on caste, religion, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, region of origin, nationality, or any other ground prohibited under Article 15 of the Constitution and the Protection of Civil Rights Act, 1955
• Operating the Property as anything other than a registered accommodation establishment (e.g., short-stay use of premises licensed only for residential use without change-of-use permission)
• Soliciting Guests away from the Platform after a Booking is made (off-platform payment, off-platform direct booking, etc.)
• Inducing fake reviews, manipulating ratings, or offering consideration in exchange for positive feedback
• Charging different rates at the Property than those displayed at the time of booking
• Demanding a security deposit at check-in greater than INR 1,000 for a verified Booking, except for premium category properties where pre-disclosed

9. Guest reviews & response

• All reviews are submitted by verified-stay Guests. StayByHours may publish them as received without prior approval from the Partner.
• Partners may submit a public response to any review through the IMS portal within 14 days. Responses must be civil, factual, and non-discriminatory; abusive responses will be removed.
• Where a review contains factual inaccuracy or is in violation of the review-content policy, the Partner may dispute it; the Operations team will adjudicate within 5 business days.

10. Performance benchmarks

Listings are continually evaluated on operational metrics. The following thresholds may trigger remedial action:

• Cancellation rate by Partner: more than 5% of confirmed Bookings cancelled by the Partner in a rolling 30-day window
• Overbooking incidents: more than 2 incidents in a rolling 90-day window
• Average Guest rating: sustained rating below 3.5/5 across the prior 50 reviews
• Verified service-failure complaints: more than 3 in a rolling 30-day window
• Settlement holds: more than 3 consecutive settlement cycles with chargeback or hold attributable to Partner action

11. Compliance audits

StayByHours may, with reasonable notice, conduct on-site or remote audits of any Property to verify compliance with this Listing Policy. Audits cover document validity, photograph accuracy, amenity availability, pricing display, and operational standards. The Partner shall cooperate fully and produce supporting documents within 7 days.

12. Enforcement

Where a violation of this Listing Policy is identified, StayByHours may take one or more of the following actions proportional to the severity:

• Notice — written communication outlining the issue and a 7-day cure window
• Suspension — temporary removal of the listing from public search and bookings, pending cure
• De-listing — permanent removal where the violation is material, repeated, or unsafe
• Settlement hold — withholding pending settlements where customer refunds or chargebacks are outstanding
• Termination — termination of the entire Partner account where multiple Properties are non-compliant or where fraudulent practice is established

Critical safety, fraud, or regulatory violations attract immediate suspension without prior notice; cure window does not apply.

13. Reporting concerns

Partners may report concerns about Platform operations, policy interpretation, or suspected wrongdoing to partners@staybyhours.com. Whistle-blower complaints alleging corruption, bribery, or statutory non-compliance may be made anonymously and will be treated in confidence.

14. Changes to this policy

StayByHours may revise this Listing Policy from time to time. Material changes affecting Partner obligations will be notified with 30 days’ advance notice via the registered email address and the IMS portal banner.