There are other ways to stay in someone’s home beyond Airbnb

For a pungent taste of local life when you’re travelling, you simply can’t beat a homestay, whether an Airbnb room in a high-rise flat in Nicaragua, a mat on the earth floor of a tiny hut in Ethiopia, or a night at a Cuban casa particular, complete with a jam session of Latin music.

It mightn’t be as comfortable or as antiseptic as a tourist hotel nearby but, hey, why are you actually travelling?

Homestays add a whole new layer to the travel experience.Credit: Illustration: Greg Straight

By adding in a few homestays, you can be more budget conscious, and hopefully, make friendships that might last a lifetime – or have excellent disaster anecdotes for around the dinner table after the trip.

Short-term social media platforms like Airbnb and Stayz are available in a growing number of countries – now up to 191—but do take care to check reviews of accommodation first. It’s easy to land in an Australian city and, if the room/s are dire, to find something else, but that may not be such an easy option by the Mount Mulanje in southern Malawi. Especially if you arrive at night.

Always pay through the official platform and use a credit card which gives far more fraud protection than a debit card and sometimes also travel insurance. Never agree to pay a host who asks you to pay privately.

More big companies now offer homestays as part of their tours, which may be worth considering.

G Adventures, for instance, has a new trip to Nepal with a series of five homestays with indigenous women, creating employment for locals as well as enriching experiences for travellers. Attractions include learning the local calligraphy, trying typical cuisine and a cultural walking tour.

Hiring private guides to explore a country or region can also be a fabulous way into homestays as they have the contacts on the ground to arrange accommodation to suit your particular interests and desired comfort levels – whether a tent put up in a tribal village in Tanzania, or a mat on the ground of a family’s traditional yurt in Mongolia.

As an alternative, check out the area–specific Facebook groups where residents regularly advertise homestay opportunities, or consider a language exchange program where homestays come as part of the deal.

There are also more informal homestays available. Arriving on some Greek islands on the ferry, you’ll immediately be accosted by locals with placards offering cheap rooms in their homes. It’s a good idea to have a map with you, to make sure the location will suit and is not too far from attractions or the beach. It’s wise to time your arrival during the day in case the homestay doesn’t suit and you have to come back to the port to start again.

With all homestays, make sure you negotiate the price straight away, before you’re committed, and be clear whether they’re talking local currency or US or Australian dollars.

And if you really don’t feel safe, get out immediately. Nothing’s worth a night sleeping in a room you’ve barricaded yourself into – just in case .