Comments on: Villagers open their homes to visitors http://www.ttrweekly.com/site/2009/11/villagers-open-their-homes-to-visitors/ FIRST with the FACTS on Thailand and Mekong Region TRAVEL Tue, 07 Feb 2012 12:42:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: charubun pananon http://www.ttrweekly.com/site/2009/11/villagers-open-their-homes-to-visitors/comment-page-1/#comment-1294 charubun pananon Wed, 11 Nov 2009 16:25:49 +0000 http://www.ttrweekly.com/site/?p=9255#comment-1294 Many people in the travel industry are quite worried about the meaning of homestay in Thailand. Does homestay mean we have our house and there are rooms left available for offering accommodation service to visitors, or do we push the villagers to build a new house for visitors? If it is the first meaning, it is not a direct business because the villager needs little capital to operate an accommodations business. But if it is the latter, the villager must invest to build the new house for visitors and it will become a direct business. Homestay accommodations is a niche market and the villager who builds a new house must know how to market. Everyone can foresee a list of management difficulties. But in the first case, villagers have no risk and if there are no customers, they can still survive. Government agencies should carefully set up the proper system of homestay management so there won't be problems in the future. Many people in the travel industry are quite worried about the meaning of homestay in Thailand. Does homestay mean we have our house and there are rooms left available for offering accommodation service to visitors, or do we push the villagers to build a new house for visitors?

If it is the first meaning, it is not a direct business because the villager needs little capital to operate an accommodations business. But if it is the latter, the villager must invest to build the new house for visitors and it will become a direct business.

Homestay accommodations is a niche market and the villager who builds a new house must know how to market. Everyone can foresee a list of management difficulties. But in the first case, villagers have no risk and if there are no customers, they can still survive.

Government agencies should carefully set up the proper system of homestay management so there won’t be problems in the future.

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