How Homestays Differ from Hotels

Homestays have certain similarities to traditional accommodation facilities such as lodges and beds and breakfasts in that they also provide accommodation to travelers and tourists. However, this is basically where the similarities end and the differences start. This article looks at some of the factors that make a homestay different from traditional establishments that have accommodated travelers for many years. Knowing these differences will enable a homestay host to understand exactly what guests who book into this kind of accommodation are looking for.

Giving character to accommodation

Hotels have said for so many years that they want to create a home away from home for travelers, but anyone who has ever stayed in a hotel anywhere in the world will tell you that these establishments have no character whatsoever. Hotels deal with so many people at one time that attempting to create a home away from home is almost impossible. The staff in traditional establishments do one thing over and over to the extent that they risk ending up sounding like robots. The homestay is the place for that person who has become tired of staying in hotels and is looking for an option that offers endless possibilities. What makes this possible in a homestay is that in different countries, you will leave with different families that meet different characters. With globalization, hotels have spread their wings across the world in such a manner that if a guest stays in a hotel in the United States and flies to Australia the next day and books into another hotel, they may as well still be staying in the same hotel. This is the gap that homestays are closing.

Personalized service

Again, traditional establishments try their best to offer a personalized service but attempting to do this in peak season where guests arrive at the hotel by the second, can also be impossible. This is different in a homestay facility because no matter how big someone's home is, they can only take so many guests. Hence, when they promise that they will offer a personalized service, they are making a promise they are able to deliver on. Unlike in traditional establishments like hotels, guests staying with a homestay host can make the decision on how much time they will be spending with the host. Some will take as much time as the host can offer while others will make the decision to join them only during meal times. For some guests, meals will not even be included in the arrangement. Guests staying with homestay hosts have an opportunity to tell the host what exactly their preferences are with regards to the type of meals they like and the times they will have such meals. This is almost impossible in a hotel as there is no way the hotel can accommodate the needs of all the guests who stay in at a given time. Hotels will tell the guest the time when they need to be in the dining area no matter what the schedule of the guest is. If they miss that time, they will have to get their meal elsewhere. In a homestay, the guests can request for meal times to be changed for particular days if the host family is agreeable.

An opportunity to bond

Even though guests may come from different parts of the world, they have an opportunity not only to bond with the homestay host, but also with other guests staying with the same family at the same time. Some of the bonds formed in the homestay grow into lifelong friendships.

Providing activities that are unique

Hotels have established activities that are meant to fit into the schedule of a regular traveler and those who do not find the activities provided by the hotels exciting, have to go and find their own. Homestays are different in that the main focus is on the guest. Homestay hosts are encouraged to find out as much as they can about the requirements of the guests. Since guests live with people who are already going on with their own activities like weddings, birthday celebrations, and children's graduations, they have a chance to attend unique activities in the natural setting of the family. The host family can also invite the guest to join them for a church service or another traditional ceremony that the guests would never have had a chance to see if they lived in a hotel.

Home cooked meals

Many people who spend their lives traveling and living in hotels know how tiring it can get to eat meals prepared in hotel restaurants on a daily basis. One hotel is likely to offer the same sort of food as another hotel. Homestays differ in that right throughout their trip, guests will eat home-cooked meals. In a homestay arrangement, the guests will eat the food that the family eats and therefore get a chance to eat and enjoy local meals. In the homestay, the guests can also take part in preparing the meals which can give both the hosts and the guests a chance to learn new recipes and ways of cooking.

Local touch

The essence of traveling to a place is to see how the locals live. In a hotel, guests are usually among other foreigners who do not have a lot of local knowledge to share. In a homestay, the guests live with people who have vast information about the local area. Hosts are encouraged to show their guests around. The insights that this can provide are not possible in hotels where there is usually no one dedicated to a particular guest. Hosts also usually have contacts in the local area that can help guests to facilitate and make bookings to see interesting places.