They 'fool' around with customers

What is in the name, many say. But definitely even a fool would not like to be called a fool. But one enterprising person has been capitalising and thriving by establishing a chain of hotels called Bewakoof (fool). First Bewakoof hotel was set up in Giridih in Jharkhand a few years ago.

Curiously, those who run these hotels boast of being called fools and to buttress their claim, they have named their hotels as "Bewakoof Hotel", "Bewakoof No. 1", "Maha Bewakoof and "Bewakoofdhiraj" among others which translate into "Fool's Hotel", "No 1 Fool", "The World's Biggest Fool" and "King of Fools" respectively.

But then, these hoteliers are no cynics. "Don't go by the names," says Ashok Singh, the owner of the Bewakoof Hotel. Singh, who is credited with experimenting with funny and quirky name for his hotel, explains: "We are not stupid people. But we have no qualms. Rather we love to call ourselves fools. The reason for that is even hard to understand. It's a great way to attract people, wayfarers and passersby and do the brisk business," said Ashok Singh.

Elaborating on how he  got a brainwave, Ashok Singh said: "we were running a small hotel with a simple name 'Uttam Bhojnalaya' near Kachahari Chowk till 2002. Our business was not that impressive. However, one fine day, some visitors left the hotel without paying the bills after their meal. So, we started calling ourselves
bewakoof, albeit jokingly. But much to our amazement, the surprise element in the name clicked."

Until a few years ago Giridih had very little to amble around except a Jain temple atop the Parashnath hills. But after the success of Bewkoof Hotel, the tradition has now caught the fancy in such a way that even restaurants are cashing in on with the "Idiots Bar" and "Idiots' Restaurant" at Giridih.

Michael Topno, who runs Maha Bewakoof Hotel, adds: "Giridih has no dearth of
hotels with funny names for some time now and I think there is no need to change the name as it works. While a new customer visits us spotting a smile on the face more because of our hotel's funny name, the old ones or those who have already visited us feel attracted largely because of our services."