Once a regular feature in the Konkan, home stays are facing an uncertain future. Some have stopped functioning while others have turned into hotels and resorts.
Once a regular feature in the Konkan, home stays are facing an uncertain future. Some have stopped functioning while others have turned into hotels and resorts. Pune-based traveller Joshua SB explores this phenomenon
The first time I went to Kihim, there were barely any hotels around. My rickshaw driver was friendly, so I asked him to take me to a hotel to stay. He said, “Saab, hotels are expensive, why don’t you stay at someone’s home?” He then took me to a house where I was given a room on the first floor. It was decent, had a good view and cost me Rs150. After that whenever I travelled on the weekends, it became a habit to go and stay at someone’s home.
These places were usually easy to find: I just had to ask around and I would be directed to one. The houses I visited had basic facilities like a clean bathroom, running water and comfortable beds. A home stay meant that I could get a first hand experience of the place, soak in the culture and ambience and talk to the locals. It was once a privilege to be able to live in someone’s home.
But today, when I go to Kihim, I can barely see any home stays. The few that remain have upgraded their facilities — they now have fancy toilets, TVs, ACs and other comforts thrown in. Around 80-85% of places that started of as home stays have moved on to bigger things. You will find boards outside even the smallest of houses advertising themselves as ‘resorts’ and ‘hotels’. They not only charge more but the whole experience of living with a family is missed out on.
The biggest problem that home stays face is that they’ve become synonymous with budget travel. On their part, money is the biggest factor pushing owners of big houses to either upgrade their rooms or build separate rooms/ cottages to let. In Guhagar, one of the owners shared his story with me. He had a watch repair shop at one of the town’s important junctions. There, he would get queries from travellers on where to stay. Once or twice it so happened that the places he suggested were full so he invited them over to his house. He soon realised that people were willing to pay more for the label of ‘resort’ than for a simple home stay. He built three cottages, called it Nisarg Resorts and made it his primary occupation. His is but just one example. In 2009 I had made a website for this home stay in Karde. His place became so popular that he built a resort Swapna Sagar Niwas that’s doing good business. He no longer keeps people at his home.
There is no one to blame here. On one side, as a traveller you have better options. The travellers, on their part, are happy, who wouldn’t spend more for clean toilets and clean place to crash? The budget traveller, however, is hit the most because they are finding it difficult to find cheaper staying options.
— As told to Joanna Lobo
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