Resort and cottage

About the business

More Bangladeshis are travelling inside the country, and they do not want a big city hotel - they want a small resort or cottage in the hills, on a haor, in a tea garden or near the sea. In peak season the demand is such that rooms simply run out. Over the Eid-ul-Fitr holiday in 2026 every resort and cottage at Ruilui in Sajek was fully booked until 28 March, and on a single day more than 650 tourists were turned away for want of a room, while hotels in Rangamati town ran at 80 percent. At Eid-ul-Azha, Sohag Palli and Resort in Gazipur was fully booked, Dusai Resort and Spa in Moulvibazar was above 80 percent, and The Palace at Bahubal in Habiganj ran packages from Tk 24,000 to Tk 1,20,000. Two things make this hard. First, the season is sharp: a few holidays carry most of the year's income while rooms stay empty the rest of the time and staff, power and maintenance run all twelve months. Second, fire and disaster risk is real. On 24 February 2025 a fire that started in one Sajek resort burned 94 resorts, cottages and homes to ash, and because Sajek has no fire station it took three hours for units to arrive. Weighing those two facts when choosing the site is the real decision in this business.

Unit economics

What you need to start

• Room furniture and bedding, a generator or solar power, water pumping and treatment, fire extinguishers, and an online booking setup.Equipment
• Registration of tourist accommodation with the Hotel and Restaurant Cell of the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism, which maintains the lists of five-, four- and three-star hotels. The Bangladesh Tourism Board's published laws list includes the 2024 tour operator and tour guide rules but no separate hotel or resort rules, so the fee and classification schedule must be requested from the ministry cell directly. Fees could not be verified in this research.Licence
• Fire licence from the Fire Service and Civil Defence Directorate. Wooden and bamboo cottages carry the highest fire risk, and places like Sajek have no fire station at all.Licence
• Environmental Clearance from the Department of Environment. Construction may be prohibited in an ecologically critical area; on St Martin all construction is banned and the department has filed cases and imposed fines against resorts built there.Licence
• Bangladesh Food Safety Authority registration if food is served. Under the Food Safety (Registration and Licensing) Regulations 2026, registration is Tk 1,000 new and Tk 500 renewal, valid three years.Licence
• Trade licence from the city corporation or municipality: form Tk 10, licence book Tk 50, standard tax Tk 30, stamp Tk 150-300, licence fee Tk 100-60,000 by trade type, plus VAT and signboard fee. Issued in 3-5 working days and renewed yearly.Licence
• Handling guests, managing bookings and pricing, running a kitchen and making decisions in an emergency. Guest safety and coordinating with the local administration are part of the job.Skill
• Land or a long lease in a tourist area, with rooms, a kitchen, a dining space and parking. In the hills and on islands, carrying construction material costs far more and takes far longer.Workspace

How the work is done

1. 1Before choosing a site, check whether building there is legal at all. All construction is banned on St Martin, yet new resorts are going up and the Department of Environment is filing cases and fines. Ecologically critical areas, forest land and hills may carry separate prohibitions.
2. 2Verify the land papers and local permissions. Land ownership and transfer follow separate rules in the hill districts, and the relationship with the headman and circle chief is a real factor.
3. 3Take the trade licence from the city corporation or municipality and ask whether there is a separate category for hotels and resorts.
4. 4Contact the Hotel and Restaurant Cell at the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism. Registration and star classification of tourist accommodation is handled there. The fees and rules are in the ministry's gazette; ask for the current schedule before applying.
5. 5Get the fire licence from Fire Service and Civil Defence and install fire-fighting equipment. Sajek has no fire station at all - if a fire starts, your own equipment is the only thing there is.
6. 6Get Department of Environment clearance. In hills, forest, beach and coral areas this is not just paperwork - without it the structure can be demolished.
7. 7If you serve food, register with the Bangladesh Food Safety Authority. Under the 2026 food safety regulations the registration fee is Tk 1,000 new and Tk 500 for renewal, valid three years.
8. 8Keep rooms few and standards high. Sajek fills completely in season, but the season is short - fewer rooms at a better rate is safer than many rooms standing empty.
9. 9Go on the online booking platforms and keep clear photographs and prices on your own page. Booking starts well before a holiday - Sajek's Eid rooms were gone in advance.
10. 10Set prices and staffing against the holiday calendar. Eid-ul-Fitr, Eid-ul-Azha, the winter break and long public holidays carry most of the income.
11. 11Find off-season buyers - company retreats, training and workshops, weddings and film shoots. Standing on holiday tourists alone leaves rooms empty for half the year.
12. 12Write down a disaster plan. Flash floods have submerged the Sajek road and stranded tourists, and travel bans have been imposed for security. Set your cancellation and refund rules clearly in advance.

Sources

• বাংলাদেশ ট্যুরিজম বোর্ডের প্রকাশিত আইন ও বিধিমালার তালিকা, এবং বেসামরিক বিমান পরিবহন ও পর্যটন মন্ত্রণালয়ের হোটেল ও রেস্তোরাঁ সেলের হোটেল তালিকা

  Collected: 16 Sept 2026

  Supports: Starting capital · বাংলাদেশ

• সিটি কর্পোরেশন থেকে ট্রেড লাইসেন্স প্রাপ্তির ধাপ সমূহ

  Collected: 16 Sept 2026

  Supports: Starting capital · বাংলাদেশ

• All food businesses now need safety registration

  Collected: 22 Jul 2026

  Supports: Starting capital · বাংলাদেশ

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