Serviced apartments say ‘no’ to parties

Two days after the Express reported on Bangalore Police implementing a rule making it mandatory for people to get a licence to party at any place apart from their residence, serviced apartments in the city have pulled out of the partying circuit.

Merely hours after the report, strong reactions started pouring in from across the city, complaining about the rule. The Bangalore Police defended their stand claiming that security is an important aspect.

Meanwhile, a reality check conducted revealed that none of the serviced apartments which allowed hosts to throw parties, offer their service anymore.

While many of the places at Koramangala, Indiranagar, Old Airport Road and Jayanagar claimed that they have stopped offering apartments for parties completely, others claimed that they have hiked prices, to discourage people from renting out space for small parties.

“We used to offer a 3BHK penthouse but we have discontinued this service. To start with we are located in a prime location and so we do not want to cause inconvenience to anyone,” said Candice, manager of a service apartment at Diamond District.

Another owner said they have stopped operations as they do not want to go through the procedure of applying for a licence.

“We get enough corporate clients and often they cause less trouble. We have noticed that whenever we rented out space for parties, the police would stop by at least once a month,” said Kumar, manager at an apartment on Old Airport Road.

Many service apartments at Indiranagar continue renting, however, the minimum number of people allowed per party is less than seven.