New to the city? looking for a hostel or a PG that is close to your college or workplace? Need to figure out what are the best options to choose from? What features are absolutely necessary and what you can do without? What is the optimum budget and payment options you may come across to book a hostel or a managed PG?

Well it's time to get rid of those worried marks on your forehead.

You are at the right place and without waiting any longer let's get down to the business of choosing the best features for a Hostel or a managed PG

First let's understand: What is a hostel or a managed PG?

Well, a managed PG or a hostel at its fundamental can be defined as any housing complex that offers the possibility of renting a bed in a room for a certain period of time that generally is more than a day and mostly also includes the provision of a bathroom, toilet and at least one or more course of meal like breakfast, lunch and dinner. However one may have to share his/ her room with one or more individuals who shall have their own beds.

Yes, you understood it right, a Paying Guest/ PG or a hostel is basically a dormitory with added features. It is meant to provide housing and lodging to a specific group of people like students or working professionals who wish to stay at a place for longer than just a day.

Now let's take a look at the most common yet modern features that are available widely across most hostels and paying guests/ PG facilities across India.

1. The Rooms: A hostel or a PG room may consist at the bare minimum a bed for one, two or more individuals along with a commonly shareable set of furniture like a few chairs and study table and may also have a cupboard/ storage for clothes and other articles. It may also have a single or a few ceiling fans based on the number of occupants, an electrical light source like a LED tube light or bulb and may or may not have an attached bathroom cum toilet.

2. The Common Area: Most hostels and PGs nowadays have resorted to the allocation of common areas which are well furnished and may have place for multiple individuals to organize themselves for casual activities like playing games, socializing, meeting visiting family or friends or even celebrating a certain event. This area may also have a television set for entertainment.

3. Pantry/ Kitchen area: This is mainly a cooking and food preparation area that might be allocated individually in every room as an added feature in a PG/ Hostel or may be a bigger common area in a hostel that can be accessed at any point of time by any resident seeking to prepare food for oneself using the various cooking appliances that are pre-installed here like a microwave, gas burner, mixer- juicer, sandwich maker, cutlery and basic cookware and serving utensils.

This as mentioned before can be used by any resident as a common cooking area for preparing snacks and general food items.

Food/ Dining area: most hostels and PGs have resorted to providing meals like Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner in the mornings, afternoons and evenings for all resident and hostel/ PG occupants in between a specific time period allotted to each course. The food may be a single item or a combination of assortments that may be local or in general - Indian

The food may be entirely vegetarian or non- vegetarian based on days of the week and on individual preferences as options given by the hostel or PG.

Some hostels even facilitate the packing of food for students and working professionals to carry along for their day.

Security: Most Indian Hostels and PGs are very particular about late night entry for students below 18years of age while may have an open door policy for working men and women. Some have in recent years resorted to access cards and biometrically tracked entry and exits at the entry points and highly advocate the use of doormen and guards from private security agencies for added security.

Rents and Fees: While this can widely vary, we will try to look at the most common features that are commonly found across most Hostels and PGs in the major cities in India.

i) The Rent is generally collected from 1st to the 5th of every month.

ii) Single day rent is calculated based on the monthly rent i.e. monthly rent divided by 30 or might be a fixed amount which is generally around 400 to 700 Rupees.

iii) additional charges like electricity bills, internet bills, water bills, cleaning/ housekeeping bill, food bill may be collected separately but are generally intimated at the time of booking as many inmates / residents may or may not need options.

iv) the basic fees may vary from 4500/- per month including food and lodging and go upto 15,000/- for both food and lodging for accommodation that are more premium and feature laden.

Some hostels and PGs may include other bills in the rent and collect it at a time while others may present with broken down payment options.

v) generally a months advance is asked to be deposited before one can take occupancy which is generally non- refundable and policy may vary from hostel to hostel and similarly a months notice to be given before vacating for the period of which the fee/ rent is either adjusted in the advance paid or need not be paid at all.

Extra Features: Well just like any other business a hostel and PG business also seeks innovation to stay prominent and do well. We shall discuss below the latest features that most popular managed PGs and Hostels have been providing to compete with each other and woo the younger and more tech and comfort savvy generation.

i) option of AC for a single or a shared room

ii) option of refrigerator in a single or a shared room

iii) option of a cable TV in a single or shared room

iv) option of a washing machine in a single user or shared user room or a laundromat in the common area.

v) option of WiFi per room or in the common area with access to paying individuals.

vi) option of a gym membership within the premises

vii) option of accessing multiple features through a mobile app that is connected to the PGs management.

viii) option of upgrading to a single bedroom.

ix) option of having guests over for a night with access to a guest room

x) option to choose between a variety of food items in the menu with a small amount.

xi) access to vending machines installed within the compound

xii) access to premium areas with luxury features or party areas within the hostel premises

xiii) access to work areas with internet connectivity for work from home scenarios and many many more.

Now that you have a very detailed understanding of the various features that are currently being provided by most hostels and PGs in India, we wish to help you find the very best of them all. If you are looking for a hostel for student or a managed PG for working professionals in Bangalore then look no further as we bring you PRAZO www.prazo.in PRAZO is your dream hostel PG and more that is not just affordable but will check out on almost every requirement that you may have either as a student or a working professional.

Emboldened by the PRAZO mobile app www.prazo.in, you shall have the power in your hands to not only pay rent but to upgrade rooms and access any emergency support along with custom features just for you.

Check out PRAZO hostels and Paying Guest accommodations and indulge your senses to luxury hostel staying experiences at prices that are bound to leave you with a smile.

So wait no more, become a PRAZOite and enjoy all the features mentioned above and more...