Villas to luxury apartments: Picking homestays over hotels is more fun

The rising trend in travel and hospitality offers guests privacy and comfort for a cheaper price

Chemical engineer Subhash Tandon opts to live in premium-serviced apartments during his professional assignments. Be it in Milan, Yokohama, Taiwan, Sharjah, and more recently for a private vacation with his family in Rishikesh, Uttarakhand. 

“For short duration like two nights, I always prefer a good hotel over homestay. But for a longer stay, I prefer a premium-serviced apartment with a kitchen,” said Tandon, who lives in Delhi. For a five-day break along the banks of the Ganga river in Rishikesh, he and his extended family wanted a place that felt like home.

Welcome to the post-pandemic pleasure of homestays over hotels. Data provided by MakeMyTrip, an online travel company, shows that bookings for homestays have increased almost three-fold since 2020. The company has serviced apartments in vineyards, coffee plantations, hill stations, beach towns and other places in India. “Homestays, today, are considered and searched by every three in four Indian travellers. In accordance with the growth in demand for homestays, we have also noticed a 100% growth in homestays listing on the platform too,” said Vipul Prakash, chief operating officer at MakeMyTrip.

Families would rather rent spacious serviced apartments than cramped and expensive 5-star hotel rooms. “The idea behind serviced apartments, which started in the US in the 1950s, was to provide an executive with a nice living space away from home," said Gulshan Sharma, director general-International Chamber for Service Industry and author of the book 'Rethinking Tourism - Post Pandemic'.

"The majority of foreign executives had to stay in 5-star hotels when they first started flying into India during the first wave of liberalisation in the 1990s to promote joint ventures, establish their operations, or buy stock in Indian companies because the idea of serviced apartments had not yet caught on in the nation. The popularity of serviced apartments is currently growing quickly throughout India as both domestic and foreign hospitality giants invest significant sums in promoting new ventures,” he said.

Airbnb, Saffron Stays, Ama Trails & Stays, and Stay Vista are among companies that offer homestays in apartments and villas. “Homestays are gaining momentum and our data indicates strong interest especially from the family and millennial/young professional segment as they offer a flavour of the local community and culture," said Daniel D’Souza, president & country head--holidays, SOTC Travel.

"Domestic destinations where customers prefer homestays over hotels are Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Kerala, Rajasthan, Sikkim. In addition to homestays, eclectic stays and unique accommodations like heritage bungalows, havelis/ palaces, forts, in the heart of a desert or bamboo grove, tree houses or tea estates / coffee plantations are also witnessing a surge of 10-15% v/s 2019,” he said.

Why homestay

A group of people bonding or working together will opt for homestay. Deven Parulekar, founder of SaffronStays, a company that runs a network of more than 200 private vacation villas, said the homestay industry will dominate hospitality.

“People are tired of trashing just one person's room or huddling in the lobby. Villas allow everyone--couples, friends, families, and corporates--to bond and relax in living rooms, gazebos, private lawns, outdoor central spaces of gravity and private pools. The luxury of space is here to stay.

"Second, anyone with disposable income will agree that they do not want to share their spaces. For some, having the luxury of privacy, not sharing spaces with anyone, is a true definition of success and having arrived,” he said.

Hotels have rules: breakfast timings, dress code, and behavior. At a homestay, guests are free to be themselves. Eat breakfast in your pajamas or dinner in your swimming trunks: the place is yours. Hotels offer rooms at steep prices, have cookie-cutter builds and offer standard interiors. 

A homestay offers options in properties that have their own character. Airbnb offers treehouses, houseboats, farmhouses and cabins. From 2019 to 2021, nights booked at unique properties increased by over 30 percent at Airbnb’s Indian homestay options. 

Living on a private vineyard, or looking at the Himalayas from the terrace of your private villa, or sipping champagne in a swimming pool overlooking the Goa coastline: homestays offer such experiences. “The whole trifecta of a private villa: Great views, a private pool/lawn and spacious common areas, and wholesome meals,” said Parulekar, of SaffronStays.

A hotel has no dedicated staff except for only top-level suites. When you book a private villa or a serviced apartment, you get hotel-standard staff.

“This live anywhere trend has decentralised the way we live and altered the way we travel. People will continue to spread out to thousands of towns and cities, and they will stay for weeks, months, or even longer,” said Amanpreet Bajaj, Airbnb’s general manager--India, Southeast Asia, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

At least 37 percent of Indian travelers want flexibility in their travel, said a study by AirBnb this year. This trend is significant across generations and more evident in Baby Boomers at 57 percent followed by Gen X and Millennials at 48 percent and 41 percent respectively. 

Homestay price

Homestays are priced depending on the season and number of guests. Room tariffs range from Rs 2,000 to Rs 20,000 per night and above. Companies offer everything: one-bedroom apartments, private cottages, eight-bedroom villas and more options. In some sectors, they even offer a clubbed inventory: multiple villas with several bedrooms for large celebrations, company off-sites, and family get-togethers.

The average duration for homestays is between 8 to 10 days and the price of a value homestay ranges from Rs 1,000 to Rs 5,000 per night. Luxury villas for homestays provide privacy along with professional hospitality, concierge services and a private chef and range between Rs 25,000 to Rs 40,000 per night for up to 8 persons, said Rajeev Kale - President & Country Head, Holidays, MICE, Visa - Thomas Cook (India) Limited.

 

Unit	Price (in Rs)
Ultra-luxury estates	7,499 - 12,999 per room per night
Luxury villas	4,000 - 7,499 per room per night
Pocket-friendly Villas	2,000-4,000 per room per night
2-bedroom luxury villas with professional   hospitality, concierge services, private chef	25,000- 40,000 per night for up to 8 persons
Full apartment with 4BHK, two balconies and a kitchen	26,000- 45,000 per night
5 BHK Farm house: price varies with location, amenities such as  pool, private garden etc	75,000- 2.5 lakh per night

 
Source: Market research