OYO's decision to close its doors for unmarried couples in Meerut sparks debate

Aakanksha Sadekar recounts the familiar sting of judgment Any time she walks into a hotel lobby with her partner she notices a subtle shift in the airmdasha collective glance and then the burning question ldquoAre you marriedrdquo She usually fakes ldquoYesrdquo Swiftly comes a counter ldquoThen why the different surnamesrdquoThis week OYO Rooms the disruptor that once championed the freedom of couples announced that its hotel doors would remain shut for unmarried couples in Meerut Uttar Pradesh Depending on feedback OYO is likely to extend this policy to other cities as well Fuelling this Bajrang Dal submitted a proposal to Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike BBMP Commissioner Tushar Girinath and the Bengaluru City Police Commissioner B Dayananda appealing that the OYO Rooms policy come into effect at their hotels in Bengaluru as wellRocky road for romance PicShadab KhanOYO a haven for young love and fleeting escapes launched in 2013 with the promise of liberation It now claims that its latest policy is an adaptation to local social norms and feedback from civil society groups This backtracks from its initial guarantee to provide unmarried couples with safe and hasslefree checkins and has evoked a good deal of online debateHowever for now the OYO app continues to offer a ldquorelationshiprdquo mode that shows couplefriendly hotels in cities where this policy does not apply yet while their website elaborately answers what everyonersquos asking Can unmarried couples stay in hotels in IndiaWill doors close for couples in other places too PicBipin KokateThe website quotes legal sources and news reports to confirm that no law prohibits anyone from staying together or checking into a hotel together It highlights that guests need to be 18 years of age and should have a valid ID card to check in Siddharth S Chandrashekhar Advocate and Counsel Bombay High Court confirms ldquoThere is no law that prevents unmarried couples from renting a room in a hotel renting a house nothing of that sortmdashlocally or otherwise OYOrsquos policy is absolutely discriminatory But the thing is it is their OYOrsquos internal policy Until itrsquos challenged before a court it standsrdquo However couples caught canoodling in public places can be charged with a case of public indecency under section 294 of the Indian Penal Code IPCThen where should couples go ldquoWe have never faced any issue in Mumbai or otherwiserdquo say Arun and Neha names changed adding ldquoBut we are a privileged urban couple This may not be the case for many unmarried partners looking for hotels in smaller citiesrdquo The two say that they usually book hotels after checking whether itrsquos couplefriendly clean and in a safe neighbourhood In case they donrsquot find any Airbnb comes to the rescueUnmarried No occupancyFor Sadekar whose partner travels to smaller cities in North India frequently for work booking a hotel room has become the norm ldquoI have faced issues in Mumbai Delhi Goa Jhansi Amritsar and even Meerut We usually book rooms from hotel booking sites but while checking in you can tell from the attitude of the staff that you are not welcomerdquo she says Itrsquos why Sadekar has resorted to answering ldquoyesrdquo anytime shersquos asked if she is married ldquoI am 36 so if I say Irsquom not married they ask more questions that I donrsquot want to deal withrdquo she laughsBarring couples from hotels though is often at the discretion of hotel owners and managers ldquoRights of admission reservedrdquo is a common policy that all hotels follow However itrsquos always unmarried couples who are singled out to bear the brunt of moral policingOn August 8 2015 midday had broken the story of how the Mumbai Police had rounded up 40 couples at hotels in Madh Island and Aksa Couples were humiliated and charged for ldquoindecent behaviourrdquo and were released once they agreed to call their parents It led to a public furore and prompted the then Commissioner of Police Rakesh Maria to order the cops to leave the cityrsquos lovers aloneLater on February 21 2018 midday reporters Faizan Khan and Anamika Gharat did a test drive following complaints from readers The two reporters went undercover to 18 hotels and only five gave rooms to local unmarried couples The reporters were able to find rooms primarily at Juhursquos 5star hotels without any uncomfortable questions or moral policingNaturally not every couple can afford that luxury Couples then often end up shelling out quite a bit of money looking for clean hotels in safe neighbourhoods ldquoWe often have to check into hotels that cost three to five thousand for a night which is still reasonable But it can burn quite a holerdquo say Arun and Neha The couple has begun resorting to Airbnbs any time they cannot find a hotel that will accommodate them ldquoI understand that for hotels itrsquos a safety issue As long as we are checking in with valid ID proof whatrsquos the problemrdquo asks Arun while Neha adds ldquoA malefemale couple are not always in a room to be intimate Why do I need to be married to someone to share a room I could be on holiday with a male friend and might want to share a room to save costs Or I could be travelling for business with a colleague and be comfortable sharing the roomrdquoIn the 2019 exposeacute by midday most hotels denied rooms to our reporters on the claim that the local cops had asked them to do so However upon questioning the Mumbai Police at the time it was revealed that no such instructions had been passedWhy then are couples locked out And what nuisance do they cause to hotels The Hotel and Restaurant Association of India refused to comment on the matterWith Airbnb in India the stance is similar Itrsquos up to the host to allow unmarried couples to book stays However several hotel listings do specify that unmarried couples with local IDs are welcome In the age of staycations it would be rather odd to deny couples a weekend getaway in their city no Advocate Chandrashekhar offers hope emphasising that ldquoSupreme Court and the law have recognised unmarried couples such as livein couples having a legal relationshipmdashthen who is a private entity such as OYO Rooms in this case to stipulate that only legally married couples can rent their rooms as guestsrdquoIn 2025 OYOrsquos switch to position itself as familyfriendly in Meerut stands out like a sore thumb Reports by industry experts on the subject speculate that the company might lose its progressive customer base and instead attract a more conservative demographic in tier 2 and tier 3 cities Whether this will work in OYOrsquos favour only the next financial yearrsquos reports can tellAs for now the company recorded a net loss in the financial year 202324 compared to the previous year According to the companyrsquos financial statement its operational revenue declined by 15 per cent falling to R111283 crore as of March 2024 compared to R131261 crore in the previous yearFor now couples travelling to or residing in Meerut will have to provide valid proof of marriage at the time of checking into an OYO Rooms hotel ldquoYes this means couples will have to carry around their marriage certificaterdquo says ChandrashekharldquoIt just feels ridiculous OYO was supposed to be for couples They have built their entire business on thisrdquo concludes Sadekar1537Decline in OYOrsquos revenue which touched R111283 crore in March 2024 against R131261 crore in the previous year