Ask Me Anything: About Indian Guests - Q&A by an Indian Host

[Jeet0]

Hello fellow hosts,

Did you know that 20+ million Indian guests travel overseas every year?! I was stunned when I found out too and it is estimated that this number will increase 6 times in the next 20 years. There's a high chance that you might get the opportunity to host some lovely guests from India in near future if you already haven't.

I am a host from India and have hosted more than 180 Indian guests in the last 2.5 years. I have been a little around the world and stayed at different Airbnbs, thus, I can say that I understand, upto some extent, the differences between hosting styles, guest expectations etc. across different cultures.

Early this year I made a post with 5 Tips to Host Indian Guests and it received a great response from the community. Hence, I thought of initiating a Q&A to answer other quesitons that you might have about Indian Guests, their expectations, habits, interests and other nuances which you might be interested to understand.

Please post them below and I'll try my best to answer all after 24 hours.

Please Remember:

1) To be respectful, do not use foul language/rant/rave

2) This is not an attempt to sterotype Indians. I'm only sharing my personal experience with Indian guests.

3) India has extremely diverse cultures with more than a billion people, thus you might not have similar experiences with all guests. And your experience may not match with mine.

4) If you find this useful/interesting, please hit the thumbs up button to let me know 🙂

Thank you!

Jeet

[Shilpa6]

Hello I need help ... I am a host in delhi and I wanted to know about the foreigners and Indians coming to stay with us. Do we need to provide details to police about them specially for foreigners? One of the guest asked me this question and I am still a bit confused as if I have to give details every time to the local police station I will be sitting there all day knowing how the police works. Plus my rounds to police stations will be every alternate day. Please help

[Jeet0]

Hello @Shilpa6,

Here's the resource that you need. I hope it helps 🙂

https://www.airbnb.co.in/help/article/1641/guidance-on-foreigner-registration--frro--process-for-ind...

[Jeet0]

Hi @Shilpa6, just following up to check if you found the solution to your issue in the link that I shared 🙂

[Shilpa6]

Yes thank you very much... I any trouble you again... I have been hassled for a while due to this... thank you sooooo much. You have really been very helpful

[Jeet0]

Phew!!! I'm glad it worked. It's a little inconvininet process but once you get to know the cops at your local police station and they know that you are a responsible host. It gets super easy. 

[Welcome0]

Since I live in a town inhabited  with many Indians, Indian cultural centers, stores and restaurants, I do anticipate requests from them as guests in my Airbnb. Please give me 5 power points of do's and 5 don'ts while hosting Indians. Thanks! 

[Jeet0]

Hello @Welcome0,

Have you read through this post that I have linked in the post? https://community.withairbnb.com/t5/forums/v3_1/forumtopicpage/board-id/listing-and-reservations/pag...

Let me know if you already have, I'll try to think of more points 🙂

[Kenneth18]

@Jeet0

Thank you for doing this. I hope i am not stereotyping. Can you explain why most of my indian guest request to view the property before booking? Even after explaning that the photos and description shown is recent and it is exactly as described. I have also mentioned that Airbnb policy do not encouraged viewing of property for multiple reason. I can understand if they came from India and might not be as trusting but what about those that grew up in a foreign country ie UK, USA and Canada? 

[Jeet0]

Hey @Kenneth18, I can totally relate to your issue as I have faced it myself several times.

The reason why they might be doing this is that a big chunk of our population is new to the internet and the growth is just phenomenal. Lots of people are still a little sceptical of online bookings/shopping due to awareness about online fraud. Moreover, Airbnb, too, is quite famous for being one of scammers favourite place and news like this go viral. Due to which there is added fear amongst new Airbnb users especially while make reservations in a different country. Also, even now traditional hotels are more in number and guests there can book by taking a look at the rooms first. I think Airbnb needs to educate it's guests more to make them understand it's policies and the difference between Airbnb and a hotel, especially in new, growing regions like India.

- What do I do in such situations?

Same as what you do. My lisitng is detailed, up-to-date. The reviews speak volumes and confirm that my place is real. I simply, politely point the potential guests to the photos and the reviews and I let them know about the Airbnb policy as they aren't aware.

This has helped me 90% of the times. Similar issue is guests wanting to speak over phone or skype before booking and I use the same tactic there as well. It helps mostly.

I can't comment about the ones which grew outside India as I don't have much experiecne with them and it would be wrong on my part to share misinformation. 

I hope this helps 🙂

Thanks for your question.

[Jennifer--And-My-Brother0]

Hi, Jeet.  What kind of parties are young professional Indian Americans going to that are all nighters?   Are they clubbing strictly within Indian clubs?   Because two bookings and an inquirer said they were out all night and might come home in the early morning if at all and I was wondering where do they go?  Are these the beautiful people of Indian American society?    They really are the only ones who have this all nighter please don't lock me out warning so I was wondering where do they go?  Is there dancing?  food? 

[Shashank4]

Hello Everybody,

Thanks for creating this forum.

I am an Airbnb host in Puttaparthi town of Andhra Pradesh state in India and have been on Airbnb since 2015. 

In case you happen to plan a trip to India, this place is a must see to experience Spirituality & learn about the sacred Guru Sri Sathya Sai baba.

More about Puttaparthi: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puttaparthi

More about the shrine at Prashanti Nilayam & how to reach here : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puttaparthi

More info about Sri Sathya Sai baba (Swami): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sathya_Sai_Baba

Link to my Airbnb Home:: https://www.airbnb.co.in/rooms/23439460?s=51 

Kindly feel free to connect with me for any queries.

Thanks.

Shashank

[NewEarth-Haven0]

Im a host in Bali (Indonesia), everytime we have indian guest, they always succeed annoyed us. not being racist at all. once, an indian couple asked 6 towels in a day, then another guest asked a bucket of ice cube delivered to their room twice in a day, and then asked my friend if they can help to find weeds. last case, an indian family of 4 asked to upgrade their room into the nicer room , bigger room and luxury room but for FREE. all of them insisted me to give it for free. any suggestion if i face those again in the future?

[Allison275]

We’ve just begun hosting with Airbnb and have hosted one Indian family so far, and another Indian family just booked last night. My observations are that Indian families comprise the largest parties requesting to book our space, which is a studio that has a queen bed and a pullout double bed. No private bedroom. In both cases, the families are four adults. I don’t know many American families that would want to put four adults in one room. Second observation is that in both cases, it’s been unclear who is actually coming to stay. The first guests reserved for 3 people but showed up with 4, and when I kindly requested they submit a change request to add the 4th guest, they responded that the WiFi was slow. I waived the extra person charge, which I suppose is what they were hoping for. For the second reservation made last night, the reservation was made for 4, but the guest only mentioned who 3 of the guests were in his inquiry. I had to ask who the 4th person was. Other observations include that our Indian guests spent a lot of time inside, and cooked most of their meals. The studio smelled very strongly of Indian cooking spices after their four-day visit, and I needed to wash every linen in the place, opened all the windows and used Febreeze liberally to remove the smell for the next guest. This all said, I traveled for many months in India and none of these things really surprise me based on my knowledge of the culture. Now that I’ve experienced hosting an Indian family firsthand, I’ll know better what to expect for next time!

[Beth-And-Mason0]

Indian guests are the most gracious and thankful of guests we experience, and we experience many Indian travelers being so close to Niagara Falls.  They leave great reviews, and give our home the utmost respect. My partner and I are a queer couple, and while I have had issues with American guests who didn’t agree with our lifestyle, Indian guests do not judge or even blink an eye.  Plus, the mom-types insist on feeding me their delicious food - and omg, the food warms my soul. One thing I have noticed is about 50%of them are totally surprised by there being a dog in the house, and a few have actually refused to stay for that reason(it’s in the listing numerous times, including pictures of our pups, but it is somehow looked over). As a result, I always verify after booking that everyone booking loves dogs. A few have canceled here and there, but better to Cancel at booking than upon check-in. 

[Sowmyashree0]

hey, I'm also from India!! Have you ever hosted mixed gender friends?? Is that ok to allow ??