For Yash Kumar, the idea did not come from a pitch deck. It came from frustration.
Each time he visited India from the United States, he struggled to find authentic, reasonably priced homestays online. Yet on the ground, he saw well-run cottages and family homes everywhere. Most were invisible online. Those that were listed paid heavy commissions and still lacked control.
That disconnect pushed Kumar to walk away from a ₹2 crore-a-year software career in the US and build Homeyhuts, a Hyderabad-based startup that positions itself as India’s first zero-commission homestay platform.
From the US to Indian entrepreneurship
Kumar grew up in Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh, and moved to the US in 2012 to work in software. Over the years, he built financial security, owned multiple properties, and lived what many consider a settled life.
Still, entrepreneurship stayed on his mind.
A road trip across South India in 2018 sharpened that instinct. Platforms like Airbnb worked smoothly abroad. In India, homestay owners struggled. High commissions. Complicated dashboards. Language barriers. Tools designed for hotels, not families.
By 2023, Kumar began building Homeyhuts while still based in the US. In 2024, he and his wife sold their assets, resigned from their jobs, and returned to India. He then spent six months in Uttarakhand living among homestay owners, learning how they operated before launching the platform.
A broken hosting ecosystem
India’s homestay market remains fragmented. Over 40% of properties are not listed online. Those that are often depend on one or two OTAs, paying 15–21% commissions.
Hosts manage multiple apps, face double bookings, and lose pricing control. Travelers, meanwhile, choose between hotels or overpriced rentals, missing genuine local stays.
Homeyhuts targets both problems at once.
Zero commission, subscription first
The startup tested its model in Uttarakhand in 2024, then expanded into managed hosting across Nainital, Manali, Goa, Jammu & Kashmir, Hyderabad, and other tourist hubs.
The real shift came in July 2025 with the launch of “Host It Yourself.”
For ₹490 per property per month, hosts can:
• List their property
• Sync calendars across 8+ OTAs
• Use AI-based dynamic pricing
• Avoid commissions entirely
Optional models include:
• 8–10% pay-per-booking for hands-off users
• ₹400 per property for multi-property channel management
Designed for Indian hosts
Homeyhuts supports Indian languages, including Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, and Kannada. Hosts receive next-day payouts after guest check-in.
Trust remains central. Hosts submit ownership proof, ID verification, and complete a one-time video KYC. Guests are verified, too. Communication happens directly via WhatsApp.
“Most homestay owners run on thin margins,” Kumar said. “They deserve tools that help them keep what they earn.”
Early traction
India’s homestay OTA market stood at ₹24,100 crore in 2024 and could reach ₹85,420 crore by 2034. With nearly 27 lakh second homes, supply continues to grow.
Homeyhuts says it has:
• Onboarded 2,000+ properties across 16 states
• Crossed ₹2 crore in gross booking value
• Generated ₹22+ lakh in revenue
A Facebook community of 169,000 property owners also feeds constant feedback into product development.
Bootstrapped, by choice
Homeyhuts remains fully bootstrapped. Kumar says the lack of external funding slowed hiring but protected focus.
The roadmap includes 10,000 properties by 2026 and 20,000+ by 2027–28, with expansion planned across Rajasthan, Kerala, Maharashtra, and the Northeast. Its AI tools will also launch internationally under a separate brand, Letloom, starting in Southeast Asia.
The goal, Kumar says, is not speed. It is control.
“We’re building for hosts first,” he said. “If they win, the platform wins.”
Photo: ISN
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