(Also found in "The Green Tourist")
It can be really exhausting to constantly book hotels and accommodation. This is especially true when you travel to a new city or country. How can you get the same experience as a hotel without paying for one?
Travelling has perpetually been about exploring and experiencing new adventures. Recent, new innovations and urbanisation have changed the way of living for individuals and their expectations for everyday comforts immensely. Every now and then, it is essential to put the ongoing schedule and constant hustle on hold, travel and relax in a new location, away from the urban lifestyle.
In the current scenario, a lot of individuals are shifting to the travel industry, professionally. This includes bloggers and vloggers, professions which have very recently come into existence, as a result of the advancement of technology. This has made it possible for everyone to travel and tell their stories. The expansion of these many industries not only opened new possibilities for themselves but also fabricated the expansion of tourism.
The tourism industry has broadened and there are newer forms of tourism that has gained popularity like cultural, volunteer, agricultural, rural, eco, homestay and nature-based tourism which are a chance for the tourists to take a step closer to nature and contribute to our environment.
Homestay tourism is among the upcoming and progressing concepts in the tourism industry that offers interesting encounters to the extensive variety of tourists.
Homestay is, as the term suggests, someone’s home that an outsider stays at, in exchange for money or favours. Homestay is, as the term suggests, someone’s home that an outsider stays at, in exchange for money or favours. The outsider essentially stays at a person’s house with them and their family, in an experience like that of a hotel, the difference being the trip is sustainable. Homestay is commercialising one’s own for financial benefits by providing a middle ground for tourists, except they are more intimate than hotels but definitely more formal than staying with friends or relatives.
Homestay culture has had huge popularity in India but is now spreading to all places around the world. Airbnb and homestay.com are two platforms that connect hosts and guests by empowering individuals to become hosts. The platform is easy to navigate and can provide a variety of accommodations for short periods of time.
Gulcan Yilmaz, 48, has been a homestay owner on Airbnb since November 2018. Originally from Turkey, she has been living in London for around 23 years. Her place is within a 15-minute radius of Shoreditch, London. She has hosted more than 30 guests from various countries, at different times. As a solo host, she has shared her house with different travellers from around the world.
Why is Homestay better? The very idea of staying in a homestay while on vacation isn’t typically the first thing that comes to mind when planning a trip, mostly because it sounds like home. It raises the question of why someone would stay in a homestay when they are travelling to get away from home.
To begin with, homestays are a good way of getting to know new people and learning about their customs and cultures. “I have met wonderful people from all around the world including China, Japan, Italy, Canada, USA, Australia, New Zealand, Cambodia, Brazil, India, Italy, Germany. I’m still in contact with some of them,” says Yilmaz. Cross-culture exchange is a way to accept another culture and embrace your own. Learning a new language, witnessing gender roles, and social and family values of the host family from the perspective of an outsider, are a few added advantages.
One gets to try the local delicacies and specialities while learning the fascinating history or stories behind them. Usually, homestays offer all meals of the day to their guests where the dishes are mostly their authentic local dishes. Since the dishes are home-cooked, they are comparatively healthier than the food available otherwise. Also, the fact that most of the hotels now have “westernised” minimises the chance to try the food that the local people have.
Another reason people opt for homestays is that it increases networking for both parties. By travelling locally, it is easier to make new contacts from various fields. Many homestay owners and their families take great pleasure in teaching guests their skills and languages too. The guests and hosts usually sit and dine together, which results in a significant exchange of stories, experiences and knowledge. Sometimes, travellers meet other travellers in the same homestay, which can make it an even more unforgettable experience, particularly when one is travelling solo.
It increases networking both ways. By travelling locally, it is easier to make new contacts from various fields. Many homestay owners and their families enjoy teaching guests their skills and languages too. The guests and hosts usually sit together and dine, which means the exchange of stories, experiences and knowledge. Sometimes, travellers meet other travellers in the same homestay, which makes it a worthy experience especially when one is travelling solo.
Homestays are more often a cheaper alternative to hotels and resorts. They do not come with any hidden charges or taxes and food is mostly included in the package. You can get more out of the amount that you pay for a homestay than from what you pay for hotels. “I think it’s a great alternative, especially for people with low budget who can’t afford the hotels and for people doing short-term visits to the city. Or even better, for people relocating from another country and it’s a hub for them until they find their own place for a longer term,” Gulcan continues. “And it is certainly much cheaper. All my guests loved living in my apartment. It’s home away from home for them.”
Finally, they are significantly sustainable. With regard to this, Gulcan says “Instead of changing towels and sheets every single day, you’d do a normal routine once a week which saves energy and money.” Reusing and recycling appliances, toiletries and shared use of space is a fair sustainable practice. “I believe it’s better than hotels. It certainly does help the environment in terms of energy consumption being less than the hotels for each stay”, the homestay owner mentions. Staying in homestays instead of hotels means energy consumption lessens to about 63-78%, saving water up to 48%, less waste production and lower greenhouse gas emissions.
Coming under the hospitality sector, homestays are considered a business too, just like the hotel industry. “I needed extra cash at the time when I joined Airbnb because I bought a car and my friend suggested it to cover the cost of the car. And it did!” Yilmaz discloses why she initially got into this business: “I don’t look at it as a business because you are opening your own home to strangers. It’s like having a flatmate for a short or long-term stay. It is more affordable and preferred by the younger generation. They want to feel at home.”
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