10 Reasons You Should Embrace Homestays on Your Next Vacation

Last year was probably a page-turner for evolving travel trends in India, as it steered the Indian traveller as well as the Indian travel industry towards a new direction. While famous and touristy places still make up for a major portion of the travel-pie, offbeat destinations have finally started making their presence felt in a huge way. Another major trend that seems to have evolved at a rapid pace is vacation accommodation, with the focus shifting from hotels to homestays, and rightly so. I am a huge believer in the concept of homestays, and today, let me take this opportunity to convert you as well. Here are ten reasons why a homestay is always a better option than a hotel.

1. Get an Authentic Local Experience

Travel is all about experiencing the new and embracing everything local while you’re out exploring a place you’ve not been to before. What could be a better way to achieve this than living with a local, in a home that is typical of the place you’re visiting? There cannot be a more authentic experience than sharing a local’s home for a couple of days. While hotels can provide you with all the luxury, they seldom allow you to experience the true essence of a destination.

2. Go Beyond the Guidebooks

Choosing a homestay almost always means that you have someone who can guide you about the place better than any guidebook in the world. From what to see, where to shop, and what and where to eat – no travel guide or website can provide you with better tips on these than a local who has opened up their home to visitors to their city. Not everyone has the heart to do it, and those who do, sure have a passion for it – and it shows. I have had long conversations with hosts which ended up changing my itinerary completely, and always for the better!​

3. Enjoy an Exclusive and Personalized Experience

Once you’ve stayed at a homestay, hotels feel like mass-produced clothes while homestays feel like limited-edition designer outfits. Homestays always have something exclusive about them, while hotels are, more or less, all the same for a given budget range. Moreover, they lack the customization that a homestay can provide. Add to that the liberty one can take to brew up a cup of tea or make a midnight snack in the kitchen. So for those who fancy exclusivity, homestays are a perfect option.

4. Revel in Good Company, Even While Travelling Solo

For those who travel solo, homestays are the best travel decision they can ever take. It helps to have some company and conversations after spending the day exploring the town solo. Instead of heading to an empty hotel room, if you would rather go home to someone waiting for you at the dinner table, skip that hotel room I say!

5. Dig into Authentic Local Cuisine

A trip to a new destination is always incomplete without tasting the local food. While there will always be a plethora of options to choose from, nothing really matches the warmth of a home-cooked meal. If you are out on a longish trip, you would soon tire of the food served in hotels and restaurants. Homestays solve this problem beautifully with delicious home-cooked food, often made using local produce. If you are craving for something special, most of the times your hosts would be happy to oblige.

6. Gather Rare Memories and Experiences

Homestays can surprise you in ways no hotel can ever imagine to. For instance, when I was staying with a family at their farmhouse in Punjab, their ten-year-old daughter surprised me with an artwork that was as heartwarming as the morning sun. How can fake smiles at hotels ever match up to a kid’s heart-felt gesture? 

7. The Warmth of a Home Away From Home

Homestays are perfect because they reflect the personal style of the hosts, and not of some corporate organizations where one shoe fits all. Each homestay has its own essence, which I believe, lacks in hotels. While most hotels boast about rooms with views and charge exorbitantly for them, it is living at a homestay that can really connect you to a place, and introduce you to the tea-shop in the neighbourhood which sells super delicious samosas as well. #TrueStory

8. Help the Local Economy

Being an avid traveller and a torch-bearer of responsible tourism, I feel it’s only natural that homestays be given preference because in this way, we are giving back to the place so that it can prosper and develop. Hotels will anyway flourish, with or without a responsible traveller, but the concept of homestays has to be nurtured, loved and encouraged among travelers for the greater good.

9. Collect Stories Along the Way

A hotel can pamper you with luxury, but a homestay almost always gifts you with a story. Sometimes it is evident, and sometimes, it’s a treasure hunt that ends with a jackpot of interesting information about the native people, the place and many new perspectives.

10. Make Friends For Life!

The best part about homestays is that you always end up making friends. And isn’t it great to have friends from all around the world? Which hotel in the world can give you a chance to interact with people and become a part of their lives for the time of your stay and beyond?

While hotels have their own perks, a homestay is something you must experience atleast once if you haven’t tried one before. Who knows, you just might get addicted!

Explore Charming Homestays Right Here!