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AyRojgar

Residential hotel

Renting rooms by the night. A one-star hotel pays Tk 42,000 in registration and licence fees before opening and must have at least 10 rooms; government motel room rates run Tk 900-4,500.

  • Last reviewed: 19 September 2026
  • Version 1
Residential hotel

Residential hotel

Starting capital
৳15,00,000 – ৳80,00,000
Editorial estimate
Manpower
3 – 20 people
First sale
90 – 365 days
Official source
Break-even
12 – 36 months
Editorial estimate
Kind of work
Shop · Hard

About the business

Renting out rooms by the night. In Cox's Bazar, Sylhet, Rangamati or Kuakata the customer is a tourist; in a district town it is someone in for business or medical treatment. The business runs on two papers, not one: first a registration certificate from the registrar, then a licence from the Deputy Commissioner. Under Schedule 2 of the Bangladesh Hotel and Restaurant Rules 2016, a one-star hotel pays a Tk 2,000 application fee, Tk 10,000 registration fee and Tk 30,000 licence fee - Tk 42,000 before opening, plus VAT and tax at source, with renewal at Tk 5,000. At two stars the same total is Tk 73,000 and at three stars Tk 1,79,000. One star requires at least 10 rooms, two stars 30 and three stars 50. The licence application must carry environmental clearance, a fire, electricity and gas safety certificate, a RAJUK or municipality approved plan, and staff health certificates from the Civil Surgeon. The rules require the fair tariff to be fixed in taka, printed and displayed in a public part of the hotel, and every guest's name, address, arrival and departure and identity document recorded in a guest register. Money comes in cash, daily. But rent, electricity and wages run whether the rooms fill or not, and in the monsoon a sea or hill hotel can sit empty for months. Renewal must be applied for three months before expiry; after that it is a 4 percent late fee per month, and past three months the licence cancels itself.

Unit economics

ItemRangeEvidenceSuggest a correction
Monthly working capital৳80,000 – ৳6,00,000Editorial estimate
Selling price৳600 – ৳4,500 / unitOfficial source
Variable cost৳250 – ৳1,100 / unitEditorial estimate
Gross margin58% – 76%Editorial estimate
Time to first revenue90 – 365 daysOfficial source
Break-even time12 – 36 monthsEditorial estimate
Cash cycle0 – 3 daysEditorial estimate
Waste / loss40% – 60%Editorial estimate
Daily capacity10 – 100Official source

What you need to start

  • A guest register and an inspection register, both required by the Rules. Record each guest's name, arrival and departure time and date, permanent and present address, mobile number and NID or passport; for foreigners keep photocopies of the passport photo, name, address and visa pages.Equipment
  • Licence from the Deputy Commissioner as controller. Licence fee: one star Tk 30,000, two stars Tk 50,000, three stars Tk 1,50,000, four stars Tk 5,00,000, five stars Tk 7,00,000; renewal Tk 5,000, Tk 10,000, Tk 50,000, Tk 1,00,000 and Tk 1,50,000 respectively. Challan code 1-5301-0001-1818. Renewal must be applied for three months before expiry; late costs 4 percent a month and after three months the licence is automatically cancelled.Licence
  • Trade licence from the city corporation or municipality: form Tk 10, book Tk 50, standard tax Tk 30, stamp Tk 150-300, licence fee Tk 100-60,000 by trade type. A compulsory attachment to the hotel registration application.Licence
  • Environmental clearance from the Department of Environment, a fire, electricity and gas safety certificate, a building occupancy certificate and VAT registration - all four are attachments to the licence application. Their fees are separate and were not verified here.Licence
  • If the hotel has a restaurant or kitchen, separate registration with the Bangladesh Food Safety Authority is required: Tk 1,000 new, Tk 500 renewal, valid three years. Dine-in restaurants pay 5 percent VAT.Licence
  • Registration certificate from the registrar under Schedule 2 of the Bangladesh Hotel and Restaurant Rules 2016. Application plus registration fee by star rating: one star Tk 2,000 + Tk 10,000; two stars Tk 3,000 + Tk 20,000; three stars Tk 4,000 + Tk 25,000; four stars Tk 5,000 + Tk 50,000; five stars Tk 5,000 + Tk 1,00,000. Challan code 1-5301-0001-1817, plus 15 percent VAT and 10 percent tax at source on the registration fee.Licence
  • Staff training certificates and Civil Surgeon health certificates; both are asked for with the licence application and the health certificate must be renewed each time.Skill
  • Minimum rooms by star rating: 10 at one star, 30 at two, 50 at three, 75 at four and 100 at five. From three stars upward every room, conference room and open space must have Wi-Fi and wired connection, and the hotel must have its own website, online reservation and its own waste disposal system.Workspace

How the work is done

  1. 1Count the rooms before you take the place. The Rules require at least 10 rooms for one star; fewer and no star rating is possible.
  2. 2Assemble the building papers: the original deed or attested mutation copy if the land is yours, an attested long-term lease if rented, plus the RAJUK or municipality approved plan and a detailed structural plan.
  3. 3Take the trade licence from the city corporation or municipality and a TIN from NBR; both are compulsory attachments to the registration application.
  4. 4Pay the application fee by treasury challan to code 1-5301-0001-1817 and apply to the registrar on Form 1. At one star the application fee is Tk 2,000.
  5. 5The registrar verifies in 30 working days and issues a demand note. Pay the registration fee (Tk 10,000 at one star) by challan, with 15 percent VAT and 10 percent tax at source on it. The certificate follows in 15 working days.
  6. 6Now the licence. Get the Department of Environment clearance, the fire, electricity and gas safety certificate, the building occupancy certificate and VAT registration.
  7. 7Get health certificates for every officer and employee on Form 7 from the Civil Surgeon or a doctor at a government-approved medical college hospital. This is needed again at every renewal.
  8. 8Pay the licence fee to code 1-5301-0001-1818 and apply to the Deputy Commissioner on Form 3 with an undertaking on a Tk 300 non-judicial stamp. At one star the licence fee is Tk 30,000, issued in 15 working days.
  9. 9Fix the fair tariff in taka, print it and display it in a public part of the hotel. This is a condition of the Rules, not a matter of charging what you like.
  10. 10Keep a guest register and an inspection register. Record every guest's name, time and date of arrival and departure, permanent and present address, mobile and NID or passport; for foreigners keep photocopies of the passport photo and visa pages.
  11. 11Set tariffs and staffing by season. Sea and hill hotels fill in December and January and sit nearly empty in the monsoon, while rent and wages run all year.
  12. 12Apply for renewal on Form 4 at least three months before the licence expires. Late applications carry a 4 percent fee per month, and past three months the licence is automatically cancelled.

Seasons

  1. JanHigh
  2. FebHigh
  3. MarNormal
  4. AprNormal
  5. MayNormal
  6. JunLow
  7. JulLow
  8. AugLow
  9. SepNormal
  10. OctNormal
  11. NovHigh
  12. DecHigh
HighNormalLow

Where it works well

  • Strong fitChattogram · Business travel around the port and industrial belt; Parjatan's Motel Shaikat beside the railway station runs fourteen AC and non-AC rooms.
  • Strong fitCox's Bazar · The country's largest tourism market; the Parjatan Corporation alone runs Hotel Shaibal, Motel Probal and Motel Upal here. The crowd is in winter and the rooms empty in the monsoon.
  • Strong fitDhaka · Demand here is not tourists but people in for business and medical treatment, so it runs evenly all year. Parjatan's Hotel Abakash has 35 AC rooms.
  • Strong fitRangamati · Hill and Kaptai lake tourism; the Parjatan Holiday Complex runs about twenty AC and non-AC rooms and cottages. A travel restriction shuts the season completely.
  • Strong fitSylhet · Expatriate family visits, religious pilgrimage and the tea gardens keep some demand all year; Parjatan runs motels at both Sylhet and Jaflong.
  • PossibleBagerhat · Demand around the Sundarbans and Mongla port; at Parjatan's Hotel Pashur in Mongla non-AC rooms start at Tk 900, so tariffs have to stay low.
  • PossibleBandarban · Groups of young tourists come for Nilgiri and Thanchi and demand for resorts and guest houses is rising, with security restrictions the main risk.
  • PossibleJashore · A steady flow of India-bound passengers through Benapole land port; Parjatan's Motel Benapole runs twenty rooms and a dormitory. Here passenger flow, not season, sets demand.
  • PossiblePatuakhali · Kuakata beach; the Parjatan Holiday Homes there has sixteen rooms from AC deluxe to economy. Access from Dhaka eased after the Padma bridge.
  • PossibleRajshahi · Year-round demand around the university and divisional offices; the Parjatan motel has 50 rooms, though a non-AC single is only Tk 800.
  • PossibleRangpur · As a divisional city it draws government and business visitors; the Parjatan motel there has 37 rooms from VIP suite to economy bed.
  • PossibleSunamganj · Monsoon tourism around Tanguar haor, where the season is reversed: crowded in the rains and empty in the dry months.

Risks and cautions

  • HighDemand: Outside the season the rooms sit empty. Hotels in Cox's Bazar, Kuakata or the hill districts fill in December and January and see almost nobody in the monsoon, while building rent, electricity and wages run all twelve months. One bad season wipes out the year. Add a strike, a cyclone or a travel restriction in the hills and weeks of bookings cancel at once.
  • HighCompliance: The licence sits with the Deputy Commissioner and lapsing is punished hard: apply less than three months before expiry and a 4 percent late fee runs per month, and if you miss that window too the licence cancels itself and the whole process restarts. A 15-working-day show-cause notice comes before any suspension, but missing the notice ends the chance.
  • HighWorking capital: Large sums go out before a single sale. Government fees alone are Tk 42,000 at one star, Tk 73,000 at two and Tk 1,79,000 at three, on top of VAT, tax at source, environmental clearance, fire safety and the building work itself. Registration and licence take two to three months of government time, and rent runs through all of it with no income.
  • MediumDependency: A hotel in a tourist area rests on one thing: whether people are coming. A blocked road, a broken bridge, a travel ban in the hills or a sea warning signal can end a season on its own, and the owner can do nothing about it.
  • MediumOther: The guest register and identity rules are strict. Every guest's NID or passport must be recorded, and for foreigners photocopies of the passport and visa pages kept. An incomplete register found on inspection has to be explained, and if a crime occurs the hotel is answerable first.

Sources

What changed

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Stories about this business

What went wrongA hotel owner on Saint Martin's Island, in a Prothom Alo report

A month without a single guest and seven staff let go, once the ships stopped

Tourist ships on the Teknaf-Saint Martin's route stopped from 16 November, in the middle of the season. This hotel had no guest in a month and laid off seven staff; all 36 residential hotels and 40 cottages and bungalows on the island closed.

Reasons
Weak demand, Poor location

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