Travelling is about experiencing new, attractive and unforgettable. When you’re planning a trip, one of the most important decisions you’ll make is where to stay. 

The best accommodation for you will depend on your individual needs and preferences. Consider your budget, travel style, group size, interests, and what you’re looking for in a travel experience when making your decision.

Cost:

When we are travelling a major chunk of our budget goes into accommodation, hence it is wiser to choose homestays if you are travelling and experience authentic vibe of a region. Home stays are more affordable than hotels and one of the major reasons for this are the government policies and the taxes you pay on hotel booking versus Homestay booking. Hotels also come in budget to luxury range, however in budget hotels customers typically compromise with quality standards and luxury range also focuses more on amenities than the experience.

Food:

Both homestays and hotels give customers an option for in-house dining. However, homestays focus more on offering delicious local homemade cuisines, freshly prepared for small sets of customers. They may not offer a wide range of options to choose from, but you can surely indulge in local delicacies in their authentic form. Hotels offer a wide range of options to choose from like continental, Chinese, Indian and many more cuisines, but they may not specialize in the local delicacies. And since they cater to a larger set of customers, a lot of menu items are cooked in batches and may not be freshly prepared for each customer.

Cultural immersion:

One can immerse oneself in the vibrant culture and natural attractions by staying in the best homestays, managed by locals with love. Staying with a local host allows you to experience the local traditions, languages and get great recommendations which you will not find in any guidebooks or online reviews. Hotels were primarily designed to cater to high tourist volumes and therefore may not offer the same level of cultural immersion as well as personalized connect. And because of standardization across cities, they may not provide the same depth of local knowledge and community interaction.

Amenities:

Homestays cater to all the basic amenities and requirements like private bathrooms, comfortable bedding, AC and geysers. Some hosts may go an extra mile to allow guests to use their kitchens and do self-cooking. With the growing millennial crowd, majority of home stays also offer Wi-Fi facilities, so work does not stop. Hotels are known for amenities and depending on the type of hotel, budget to luxury type, you can find facilities like room service, gyms, swimming pool and fine dining restaurants.

Flexibility:

Home stays offer the highest flexibility compared to any other mode of accommodation. Hosts typically allow flexible check-in and check-out, they consider your dietary restrictions, pickups and drops and pet friendly accommodations. Hotels have a more structured approach towards operating business, as they have to standardize the experience and are typically strict about check-in and check-out timings.

Group size: 

If you are traveling with a group, a homestay can be a great way to save money. You can often rent a whole house or apartment for your group, which can be much more affordable than booking multiple hotel rooms.

You can simply follow these two steps to always get authentic homestays run by locals:

• Read reviews of the earlier travelers about hospitality.
• Book home stays from trusted platforms where you can watch videos of the host, the house and the surroundings and book securely.

Overall if you are a frequent traveler and are looking to experience authentic culture, local food and great hospitality, homestays is the right choice. However, a lot of small budget hotels also promote them self as homestays to get tax benefits.