Furnished short-stay flats for Maldivian patients and families

This business rents furnished rooms or small flats by the week or month to Maldivian patients and the relatives who travel with them. Each unit has a small kitchen, since families often cook their own meals, plus a washing machine and Wi-Fi. Paid extras can include airport pickup, a driver for hospital trips, help with appointments and a local phone connection.

Thiruvananthapuram is the nearest Indian city to the Maldives, with direct flights to Malé, and Maldivians have long come here for hospital care and for study. The city's government medical college and its large private hospitals see many patients from the islands, and treatment often runs for weeks. Hotel bills add up over that time, so a clean flat with a kitchen suits families better.

You need a leased building near the big hospitals, furniture and appliances, a licence from the city corporation, and, because your guests are foreign nationals, you must report each stay to the authorities online through Form C within 24 hours of arrival. The hard part is steady occupancy: numbers rise and fall with relations between the two countries and with air fares. Word of mouth decides everything, so cleanliness and honest billing matter.

Find guests through Maldivian community groups, hospital international-patient desks, student associations and booking websites.