Top 5 Tips - Hosting Indian Guests

[Jeet0]

Hello fellow hosts!

Hope you are doing well 🙂

I'm writing this post to help you welcome and host Indian Guests in the best possible way.

A little bit about myself - I'm a host from India and have hosted more than 100 Indian familes in the last 2 years. I have been a little around the world and stayed at Airbnbs and thus I can understand the differences between hosting styles, guest expectations etc. across different cultures. Below I'd like to mention 5 points to remember while dealing with booking requests and reservations by Indian hosts.

I'd like to mention here that I'm not trying to sterotype Indians and only sharing my personal experience with most Indian guests. I hope you find it useful [Hit the thumbs-up button if you do, and I shall post more tips]. Also note that India is a country of extremely diverse cultures, thus you might not have similar experiences with all guests.

So here we go:

1.  HAVE PATIENCE - Airbnb is still a fairly new concept in India and is growing faster than ever before. Most guests are first time users of the Airbnb platform and aren't very familiar with the concept of Home-sharing. You might encounter some obvious questions like "What's the total price?", "Can you provide your contact number?", "Would we have the entire place to ourselves?" etc. although these answers are present on your listing, please try to be patient in ansering these questions. Remember that these are people who haven't used online payments as much as you and are sceptical about it as it's their first time. Airbnb is yet to establish a strong user trust in India as conventional hotels still dominate the market however people are quickly realizing the benefits of staying at an Airbnb and are willing to try out. So be a little patient, helpful and supportive in your approach.
   
   
2. NEGOTIATION IS COMMON - Negotiating before renting any service or purchasing any commodity is a common practice in India. It's a necessary skill that most posses and use quite frequestly so in case someone tried to negotiate with you by asking to give a Special Discount Offer or offer Free Meals or Airport Transport, don't be surprised or upset. It is not considered as bad practice and guests might sometimes appear to be a little more pushy/demanding. If you aren't okay with this, try explaining the same politely if you are successful, the guests would be convinced that you aren't overpricing and would readily book. Give them context about the normal rate in your surrounding, add details about some of the extra facilites that you provide and why your costing is appropriate.
   
   
3. GREETINGS AREN'T COMMON - In a country of 1.33 Billion individuals, it isn't possible to smile and wish "Good moring", "Good day" to every person you see on the street, Or pull the door at stores for other customers. So in case your guests don't greet you everyday in the morning or when you see them, please do not confuse this as rude behaviour. We are just not used to pleasantries, however you could initiate this and I'm sure your guests would reciprocate with a lovely smile and greet you back.
   
   
4. CLEARLY ESTABLISH THAT THIS IS YOUR HOME AND NOT A HOTEL - As mentioned in point 1, most guests are quite new to the concept of Airbnb and so it is important that you firmly yet politely establish prior to booking that your are opening the doors to your home which is your personal space to a complete stranger and it is absolutely necessary necesssary that guests follow the house rules and treat your home with respect and care. Use the word "Home" insead of "Property", "Listing" during your communication to emphasize the same. Once guests understand this well, they'll be more thoughtful about how that treat your home.
   
   
5. KITCHEN HABITS - In case you are allowing your guests to use your Kitchen, make sure that when you are giving them a house tour, you explain in detail what they can use and what they should not. Use sticky notes to mark cabinets which have stuff that's for guests to consume/use. Note that Indian/Asian food uses plenty of spices and flavours, so if your guests are cooking, it's quite possible that you might be exposed to strong aromas/smells which you haven't experienced before. If you aren't going to be okay with this, talk about it in adavance and arrive at an agreement. Another important point to note is that most Indians who can afford to travel oversee also can afford to have maids at their homes and thus might not be used to washing the dishes after use or might have never used a dishwasher. Ensure that you have this conversation in advance and explain that guests are expected to clean the dishes and the kitchen after use. I'm certain they'd be happy to do so.

There's much more to learn but I shall stop here. Indians are mostly very humble and caring folks and are known for their hospitality  and if you communicate well, you might end up making friends for life. Always over-communicate so that there's minimal scope for confusion later. If you have ever hosted Indian guests, feel free to share your experiences below 🙂

Thanks,

Jeet

[Jeet0]

@Karen343, that's ridiculous! Are they asking you to put the AC night now or are they suggesting that you should have an AC in your house?

Assuming they want it right now, I know it's impossible and you aren't obliged to get an AC because a guest demands. They are simply bullying you, and that's very unfortunate.

How many members have checked in? 2 or more? If there's more than 2, you can certainly get rid of them immediately because you are offering the place for only 2 guests. If it's just mother and daughter, it should be fine because your place accomodates 2 guests and even if they booked for 1 and ended up coming 2, they should've alteast informed you about it before checking in.

Airbnb policy states that only registered number of guests are allowed to stay.

If you are having too much trouble and you aren't comfirtable hosting them, call Airbnb right now and they shall make alternative arrangements for your guests.

Hope that helps, good luck, let us know what happens,

Jeet

[MicheleandLouw0]

@Jeet0Thank you for an absolutely great post!

[Francesca287]

Thanks Jeet!

[Tamara29]

Thank you for this. It's nice to know some of the nuances of different cultures. I feel it greatly helps in understanding and welcoming our differnces. 

[Jeet0]

You are most welcome @Tamara29, @Francesca287 and @MicheleandLouw0 

I'm happy you found my post useful 🙂

[Nellie1]

Hello Jeet,

Thank you for sharing your tips and while reading I felt that some of the tips can apply to people from many different cultures. What stands out to me is the importance of researching about a guest's homeland. I currently have a guest from Ukraine in my home and he is so respectful and kind and friendly. I was so glad that I had watched the documentary on NETFLIX about what his family had experienced in 2013. I could see in his face that he was relieved to hear that people in the US are aware and care.

Anyhow, I think it is extremely important as a Host to show genuine care for all people.

Thank you for seeking to help guests.

[Huaai0]

Well, this really answers my questions! Thanks so much!

[Huaai0]

@Jeet0

I feel deeply hurt--these are all done by your fellow countrymen (I'm just stating the facts--not all of them do these but all these are done by your fellow countrymen). No guests from other countries have done anything like this. I really don't know what to say. 

[Saskia-and-Tarpan0]

If you ever come to India, I will give you 50% discount on your stay to make up for it. What else can I (we) say.

[Jeet0]

That's really sad, I feel sorry for you.

I hope you made use of the Resolution Center on Airbnb to charge them an extra cleaning/damage fee by submitting the relevant bills.

[Huaai0]

@Jeet0 @Jessica-and-Henry0

Thanks, Jeet, but I didn't do that for two reasons:

1) Hostility won't soothe the situation. Instead, I sent a private message explaining how hurt I was.

2) If you see what kind of frugal life many of them are living (carrying a pot to cook rice during such a short stay and not eating out; using worn-out suitcases and bags; and rushing between job interviews and trying every means to leave their home country for a better life...) you probably won't have the heart to charge them any extra fees. (Some fellow hosts here say that back home they all have maids/servants. But I doubt it; those with maids/servants probably will stay at a 5 star hotel, sertainly not Airbnb lol).

[Jeet0]

"Some fellow hosts here say that back home they all have maids/servants. But I doubt it; those with maids/servants probably will stay at a 5 star hotel, sertainly not Airbnb lol"

You clearly have 0 understanding about how economies across countries differ. Please educate yourself. 1 CAD =50 INR, moreover labour is cheaper in India than the west, hence they might have maids back home but might not necesarrily be able to afford a 5 star or the expensive food in your country.

[Jessica-and-Henry0 · Accepted solution]

@Jeet0

Great post. I think there are always a few things (regardless of one's personal opinion/preference/style) that only people with the same cultural background will understand and not take offense. 

It's not about sterotyping or generalizing. People who have experienced any kind of "cuture-shock" will understand 🙂 There is no right or wrong, just different perceptions and ways of doing things a certain way that may seem strange and awkward to some but totally natural to others. 

[Huaai0]

@Jessica-and-Henry0@Jeet0

Sometimes may not be a cutural difference. For example, if these guests of mine would use their own high-end white towel to dry their dyed hair or wipe their suitcases, then I would forgive them and be totally relieved--ah, this may be commonly accepted and considered to be a norm in their cultural setting. 

But, it's turned out to be the opposite. They seem to take better care of their own belongings based on my new findings. Then it would be a totally different story. 

[Huaai0]

@Jessica-and-Henry0

By the way, it may not be that other Indians will accept some of things done by some Indians simply because they share the same cultural beliefs/values. The fact is I have heard some well-educated and more progressive-minded diasporic Indians (many American/Canadian born or Western educated) criticizing some of the traditions and social phenonema in India.