Indian couples

[Dr--Iqbal0]

Hi , I am new to airbnb hosting and I am having a flood of bookings. All local guys wanting to book for one day. What precautions do I need to take so that a I do not land in a legal soup. In India as you are aware this is a sensitive issue. My property is not in an area where families live or will feel offended. I am wary of any police interventions.I can ask them to furnish ID's of all adults checking in. What else you all think should be done?

[Sarah977]

@Dr--Iqbal0   I would advise you to snooze your listing right now. You need to make some changes. 

You are listing an entire private, beautiful home for $23/night for up to 4 people! It's dirt cheap and this is why you are getting these bookings. I don't know what comparable places in India rent for, but this is an absurdly low price and will attract the wrong people. You want nice travellers, not locals looking for a cheap beautiful, private place for their hook-ups.

Also, it's confusing whether you live on the property or what? You say you'd love to meet and interact with guest if you have time. But it's unclear how you would do that, unless you live next door or close by. 

Don't say the caretaker doesn't live on the property. You are giving people the impression that they are free to do whatever they want and no one is watching. Just say you or your caretaker are available to assist with anything they might need help with.

Remove the photo of the front of your house. It's a security risk for hosts to make the place easily identifiable.

You have no house rules listed whatsoever. So it's okay with you if they throw a giant party? Bring dogs? 2 year olds? Are there rules in your gated community that have to be adhered to? You need a list of house rules. 

[Roberta2]

Hi @Dr--Iqbal0

Another suggestion is to se a minimum of 2 nights - this, with the increased price suggested by @Sarah977, should stop most of the possible problems.

[Dr--Iqbal0]

Hi Roberta dear,

You have hit the nail on the head. I willl do that.

Really appreciate the efforts you took to solve a novice's problem.

Thanks once again

[Dr--Iqbal0]

Thanks Sarah,

Its really  a pleasure to see that you have spared so much of time and thought towards solving my problem.

I do not live on the property, your advice regarding the caretaker stuff is well taken and I shall soon update the writeup. I will post detailed house rules as well.

Thanks for such a beautiful and to the point reply.

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

Auuuu @Dr--Iqbal0 .... no neighbors... big garden.... table with 12 chairs..... big sitting area.... big living space.... IT IS IDEAL FOR PARTIES!   And dirt cheap - 12 € / night ! Are you crazy ???

As @Sarah977 said - raise your prices or your cottage soon will be trashed when someone throws a big party.

I would advise setting at least 2-3 nights minimum stay and a higher cleaning fee and of course detailed house rules.

[Dr--Iqbal0]

Thanks Branka and Silvia,

That seems to be the way out, thnks for sparing your time, I shall do it.

thanks once again

[Cormac0 · Accepted solution]

@Dr. Iqbal

If your concern is about licentious behaviour, some of the contributor may not know that people in India have been stoned to death by a mob for being adulterers, so I understand your concern, I think limiting stays to two night might help.

On the nightly rate, I think you’re the best judge as to what price you should charge considering that the average income person in India is $616 per annum.

You could simply put in you house rules no unmarried couples. This is one of the problems in attempting to build a global system particular when it American based which has a very lax view of social mores, I’m not being judgmental it just an observation.

[Dr--Iqbal0]

Thanks Cormac dear,

I must say that you have a very good understanding of this place. I shall follow your excellent advice.

[Moka0]

I was also facing the same problem when I started hosting 10months back. Later I mentioned a line in my listing details in 'others things to note' section -

*IMPORTANT*

-As it is a family homestay, unmarried couples and bachelor's refrain from instant booking, please send a request to book message first.

This has helped in controlling the bookings from unmarried couples. Still I get a few messages from them and it is fun disappointing them. Lol! 

[Ana1136]

@Moka0 excuse me for asking, I might be not educated enough on the subject, but Airbnb is pretty clear about discrimination based on marital status, what is different in India that makes it acceptable not to accommodate guests that are not married? And also how do they prove their marital status? Do they show you a certificate upon arrival? And are these rules just for local unmarried couples or for foreigners too? My intention is not to insult anyone, I am just interested 🙂 

[Moka0]

@Ana1136 thank you for your reply. I will try to answer your queries. Generally I get messages from people saying 'are local ids allowed?' This is a clear indication that this particular guest is unmarried and wants a place to do private things. The place which I have listed on Airbnb is of my grandparents and I don't want it to be used for such purpose. This rule is generally for local unmarried college going couples but if somebody is traveling from out of town for some work or family function then they are most welcome. Still it is difficult to prove their marital status but I ask them few questions like their purpose of stay, age group, occupation, etc before they book, if they have a clear purpose and plan then they won't hesitate in answering / replying. 

I've had a couple coming from Spain and Germany, so they came for work and I was very happy to host them. 

I hope this will clear your doubts. 🙂 

[Andrea4731]

Hi Ana it is illegal for unmarried couples to share a bed in India.

[Ayush33]

@Andrea4731  It is not illegal! This can be more of a social preference, taboo, or may be related to the prevention of other illegal activities/ other’s preferences (yes!) etc.

As an Indian I know, India is a complicated society. It just doesn’t work just as per the law or against the law. Unmarried live-in relationships are very common in metro cities, but may be a strict taboo in other geographies. Btw, it is also legal as per a Supreme Court judgement. Even consensual sharing of bed without marriage.

Just for your information, no offence intended. 

[Kumar232]

Hey Everyone, I am new to hosting in Patna, India 🇮🇳. And I am getting lots of request from Unmarried local couples of age 18-25. I am really confuse that, is it safe to give rooms to them ? I don't want any legal issue later on. Can police raid my flat on the complaint of neighbours (i.e: jealous aunties) 😑