Name : Rakshya Khadka Class : PHDM Course

Topic : Report of Homestays in Nepal.

INTRODUCTION:

Hospitality Industry

The Hospitality industry is the industry that is responsible providing

primarily foodservices and accommodations in places such as hotels, resorts,
conference centers and theme or amusement parks.... And also in a much
boarder view, non-commercial institutional provide food and lodging.

Some of hospitality sectors are:

 Accommodation
 Food and beverage
 Travel and tourism
 Entertainment industry, etc.

These are the sectors that provide hospitality service to their guest. For ex:
(hotels, restaurants, resorts, bar, amusement park, homestays, etc).
Hospitality and tourism industry are inter-related to each other. In
context of Nepal there are various types of tourism activities. Tourism is
the largest industry in Nepal and is the largest source of foreign exchange
in Nepal.

One of the income generating and rapidly increasing tourism activities

in Nepal is “Homestay”.
HOMESTAY:
Homestay is a popular form of hospitality and lodging whereby visitors share
a residence with a local of the city to which they are traveling. ... Farm stays
are a type of a homestay, in which the visitor stays on a working farm.

HISTORY OF HOMESTAY:

In 1949, Bob Luitweiler founded Servas International as a volunteer-

run international nonprofit organization advocating interracial and international
peace. In 1965, John Wilcock set up the Traveler's Directory as a listing of his
friends willing to host each other when traveling. In 1988, Joy Lily rescued the
organization from imminent shutdown, forming Hospitality Exchange. And so on
homestays started as growing tourism activities for tourists especially service
provided by ethnic groups for saving their culture and heritages all over the
world.

HOMESTAY IN NEPAL:
Nepal is the land of various communities, which have rich culture
and tradition of their own. Many international tourists visiting the country want
to know more about these communities. To know more about these people and
their lifestyles, the best way is to stay together with the local. The concept of
homestay in Nepal has given an opportunity for tourists to stay with the local and
interact with them.
 Sirubari of syangja district is consideres to be the first settlement to launch
homestay facilty for tourists. It was a typical gurung settlement, during the first
Nepal tourism campaign, “Visit Nepal year 1998”.

* Assumed at least 1 room and 1 bed per homestay home Sources:

i) Accommodation Research Report/NTB/CEST Nepal, 2010 as cited in Sedai, 2011.
ii) Nepal Tourism Statistics/MoTCA, 2012.
iii) Information obtained through contacts with Other secondary information.
Since, then many tourism entrepreneurs have started realizing the need
to develop model villages for their natural and cultural richness. Villages
like:
 SIRUBARI VILLAGE HOMESTAY

 GHALEGAON VILLAGE HOMESTAY

 GHANDRUK VILLAGE HOMESTAY

 PIPRAHA COMMUNITY HOMESTAY

 THARU HOMESTAY (CHITWAN)

 ETC:
CRITERIA OR RECRUITMENT FOR HOMESTAY:

 Get necessary permissions:

Homestay should be permitted by government so, necessary
permissions from local and national governance is required.

 Clean & tidy environment:

For starting the homestay facility the community should create
a clean and tidy environment for their guests.

 Good quality accommodation on homely environment:

As per homestay criteria community should give a quality
accommodation and homely environment to guests for their
comfort.

 Good safety & security:

Guests always want safety not only quality and clean
environment. Safety and security is most for starting homestays.

 Laundry:
Laundry facility is required for long-term guest. They might
need to get their clothes washed.

 Basic amenities:
Basic amenities like: Soap, Brush, Toothpaste, Hot or cold
water etc. Basic needs should be provided to guests.

 Food & beverage:

Homestay also needs a good food and beverage service. Food
and beverage as per village cultures and local foods should be
provided to guests.
Importance or experience of homestays in Nepal:
 To explore and experience:
Homestay will give you the chance to explore the traditional
lifestyle of Nepali people, which have been almost forgotten by
city peoples. In rural people, people follow the actual way of
living from which Nepal has come so far and my friend, they are
the real “keepers” of Nepal.

 To know the real Nepal:

As you explore the life of peoples in rural areas and experience
the same, you will get to know the real Nepal. Living in the house
made of stones and tiles, grazing your herd of cattle’s in the hills,
living a simple life of peace and happiness with pride, is the way
how it was done in the old days.

 Taste of local authentic foods:

You can have the taste of all Nepali cuisine in the restaurants
and hotels from city areas, and they do serve the best, but the
taste of the food in a homestay is. You will get a chance to eat the
food made from the fire woods, locally grown vegetables and
local foods prepared as per community castes and cultures.

 Get to know new culture:

In a homestay, you will get to see the culture and tradition.
Nepal is a country where people belonging to the traditions
follow different customs and culture as per their caste. Locals will
be delighted to tell you the culture and customs that existed
hundreds year back. It will be an excellent opportunity for you to
learn, so never hesitate to show your queries to your host; they
will be more than happy to explain everything they know.
 Uplift of the local economy:
Homestay has been a new way to uplift the local economy.
Staying in a homestay can aid a lot in the local economy. Tourism
has been one of the significant sources of revenue in Nepal, but
the local economy isn’t the one benefitting from those tourism
programs. In a homestay, the money you pay will directly go in
the hand of your host, homestay is the better way of ensuring the
promotion of local economy and having the time of life at the
same moment.

 Learn new language:

In Nepal, there are 123 different languages that the spoken all
over the country. Although Nepali is the national language,
especially people in rural areas prefer to speak their ethnic
language. You can learn the Nepali language, along with that you
can learn a few ethnic languages too.

 Home away from home:

In hotels, you can get all the facilities and luxury, but the
feeling of sitting inside the four walls will make you miss your
home. But in a homestay, you won’t, as it is home after all.

 Won’t feel lonely:

As I said, homestay is a home away from home. Getting the
people to know, finding out the way of life, participating yourself
in their culture will never make you feel lonely. It will be like
meeting new friends and understanding each other. You can
involve yourself in their community and try to learn the local
customs.

 Preservation of culture:
Community-based Homestay inspires and make realize on
the significance of preserving culture and tradition, As guests
take a deep interest in local culture and tradition.
 Promotion of culture:
As guests explore and learn a lot things about our cultures
while their time in the homestay. They will share it to their
friends and families which help to promote our places and
cultures.

 Proper utilization of local resources & products:

Homestay will benefit to locals as they can utilize their local
made products, resources in their services. For instance: they can
use their organically grown fruits and vegetables to serve the
guests and local people can exhibit their local talent among the
guest i.e. cultural dance.

 Help to improve livelihood and living standard:

Homestay project help to uplift the economic status of local
people and create wider benefits for the communities. The money
spent by guests is circulated within the local communities that
greatly support to boost their livelihood.

 Friendship:
While stay of guests he/she can communicate with locals and
make some new friends. Guests can have friendship and
memories.

 Women and children empowerment:

In most part of rural areas, women bound within the four
walls. Homestay program provides an opportunity to learn the
new skill and English language that enables them to enhance
their confidence level to communicate with guests and become
capable enough to become breadwinner to support their families
from the money they make. In addition, children will also get a
chance to get exposure to the outside world.
Advantages of homestays:
 Ability to immerse yourself into a different culture:
After living in a different community you will learn or be
capable of immersing yourself into a different culture.

 Taste typical foods and drinks:

Living in a homestay you will have advantages of knowing and
eating typical foods as per host culture.

 Educational benefits for students:

Homestay can be beneficial to students who want to know
about new cultures, religion, different way of life styles for study
proposes.

 Opportunity to live like a local:

You get a chance to live a life of locals a totally different
experience that you cannot get in any other place then there.

 Save money:
As homestays are community based simple homely
environment facilty, you get to save money because you’ll get
cheap pricing than in hotels and resorts.

 Make new friends:

While stay of a guest he/she can communicate with locals and
make some new friends. Guests can have friendship and
memories.

 Learn new language etc.:

In your stay you are in a different community and You can
learn the Nepali language, along with that you can learn a few
ethnic languages as per community you are living in.
Disadvantages of homestays:

 Limited freedom:
As you are living in a home of a local you cannot get full
freedom. Guest needs to live under rules and regulations and
cannot disturb locals or the family he/she is living with.

 Limited chance of location:

As you are living in a homestay it cannot be found
everywhere easily. Homestays are limited and found in only
certain location with certain ethnic groups or communities.

 Safety concerns:
You will not be able to get a quality safety because normally
you cannot find security guards or any safety cameras it’s all in
your own to be safe.

 High quality service or standard:

As you are living in homestay, it doesn’t consist of a standard
and well maintained quality service. All you get is a homely food
and homely environment as per the community.

 Internet facilities:
Homestays in Nepal are normally found in rural areas or bit far
from city. So, you may have problem of network or internet
facilities during your length of stay.

 Limited food facilities etc.:

Homestay means living with local sharing residence and foods.
So, you have a limited choice of food you cannot find many types
of dishes and facilities.
Problems of homestays in Nepal:
 Lack of Public Transportation:
Due to lack of public transportation in rural areas, one
cannot easily find homestays far from cities. They have to either
rely on their own private vehicles or hire high-cost
transportation.

 Poor Electricity Supply:

Electricity is not a place-specific problem but a national
issue today. The load-shedding has caused guests many problems
& in rural areas some places doesn’t even have sign of electricity.

 Lack of Pure Water Supply:

There are tube wells in most of the homestay or have natural
wells. It is not safe to drink unguaranteed water since they have
not lab-tested it.

 Poor Communication:
People generally like to inform their friends and relatives
about their locations specially when they visit new places. But in
most of homestays in rural areas in Nepal mobile signals or
internet service cannot be found.

 Fear of Assault by Animals:

In context of Nepal many homestays are near national park
or are far from city in forest areas. So guests have fears of assault
by animals while going to homestays or while their length of stay.

 Distant Market:
Many homestays in Nepal are far from cities and locals find
many problems to provide service to guests because many things
or amenities of guests cannot be fulfilled quickly because of
distant of market.
 Misbehavior by the Guests:
According to homestay households, the behaviors of some
guests have created problems for the households at times. Some
guests arrive very late. They even do not order their food in time.
Due to this the host family has to stick up for the orders. Some
guests drink till midnight particularly in winters, make noise,
thereby, disturbing the nights of the neighboring households and
even behave rudely with the host families. The households have
also experienced some guests coming with sexual intentions. Due
to these experiences, the female members do not present
themselves while serving drinks to their guests.

 Lack of Skills & Training:

So far, the households have received different trainings relating
to cook and hospitality. However, all the households have not
received equal access to the training and everyone is not familiar
about handling guests.

 Linguistic Problem: The households cannot speak in English

language while communicating with the foreign guests. In lack of
proper education service, they cannot communicate with the
guests easily.
Contribution of Homestays in National Economy:
According to a survey, contribution of homestay in Nepal is not much
in national sector but in community level it covers almost 80% of family
expenses and helped them to achieve a saving goal.

It can be assumed that Nepalese community based homestay systems

can serve around 1 million guests nights each year. One example of
investment and income of a homestay in Nepal is given in figure below:

Fig: Homestay Income and homestay investment of Dallagaon homestay of

Nepal:

 Pictures of dallagaon commnity homestay.

Conclusion:
In this report we got to know about homestays in Nepal, Also got to
know about history along with criteria’s for homestay, advantages of
homestay , disadvantages of homestay, problems of homestay ,
importance and experiences in homestay and many more.

I think that homestays in Nepal can be more developed and be well

managed. Problems should be solved and government should give its
support to homestays and grow these kinds of tourism activities
throughout the country in well managed way.