Foto: Alexandre Macieira | Riotur
Homestays are a good option for visitors to Rio. A comfortable place to sleep, a good breakfast, and the famous Brazilian hospitality. This is the model for homestays in Rio de Janeiro, where there are around 300 host families with about 360 available rooms. In the concept of homestay, which originated in Europe, the visitor is a guest in the home of a local resident on a bed and breakfast basis. In the Zona Sul (South Zone of Rio) rates are between R$100 and R$200 a night, with some hosts including other benefits in the price.
Marcella Clarke, chief of operations at Cama e Café, one of the networks coordinating the homestay system, guarantees that all the homes are continually inspected and have to meet a series of criteria used to evaluate the quality of the accommodation. “To stay with someone who lives in the city gives you a level of comfort and security which just isn’t possible elsewhere,” she says. For Marcella the difference between staying in a hotel and in someone’s home lies in the warmth of your reception. “Hotels are a bit cold,” she declares. She also highlights the possibility of homestayers gaining an insight into the carioca lifestyle. “The contact the homestay guest has with the daily life of the city is amazing,” she says, “It’s a unique experience".
Loris Capogrossi, director of Bed & Breakfast Brasil -another group which organises homestays- emphasises the additional services offered by hosts. These give a professional touch to the system, he says – such as airport transfers to the homestay (charged as extra), and a range of other facilities: “Most of our homes offer Wi-Fi, cable TV, laundry, cleaning services, even parking,” he says.
Most residences offering homestays are to be found in the Zona Sul or Santa Teresa. But residents of Barra da Tijuca, the fastest growing part of the city, have begun to open their homes to the service. Marlúcia Pessoa, who lives in Joá, the neighbourhood between Barra da Tijuca and São Conrado, can see both the forest and the sea from her window. She already hosts unexpected visitors, such as marmosets and capybaras. It’s this which has motivated her to make a room in her house available to homestayers. “I live in such an out of the ordinary place, with such exuberant nature, that I want to share it with other people,” she explains.
The therapist says most of Rio’s hotels are in the Zona Sul, in neighbourhoods like Copacabana or Ipanema, and because of this not many tourists visit Barra. “I want to change that, and show people another side to the city,” she says. Marlúcia explains that she’s always loved to travel, and that welcoming people from all over the world into her home gives her the opportunity to get to know other cultures and share experiences. “It’s a pleasure to take my guests to places which are quite different to those they find in the guide books, to show them round the area where I’ve chosen to live,” she concludes, “When you stay in someone’s home, you end up knowing a lot more about the city.”
Artist Wanderley Figueiredo was amongst the first to open their doors to homestayers, some 11 years ago. For him, the secret to being a good host lies in the guest’s opportunity to identify with his lifestyle. “The homestay gains a special ingredient from the moment the visitor joins me in my daily life and opens up the possibility of getting to know the place more deeply,” he says. A resident of Santa Teresa, he says that even before he rented rooms in his house he was already used to putting up friends on a regular basis. “I like to host and I have a preoccupation with giving visitors the best possible impression of my city,” says Wanderley.
Luiz Olinto has worked in the tourism industry for 26 years, and has decided to start offering bed and breakfast. He was attracted by the possibility of gaining new knowledge and swapping experiences as much as the extra money. “I’ve travelled all over Brazil, which means I have some experience in this area,” he explains, “These days I host people from places such as New Zealand, Germany and France, which helps me to understand other cultures better.”
Owner of an apartment in the heart of Copacabana, the tourism professional joined the network of homestay hosts in August 2012. For him the sheer pleasure of welcoming guests and exchanging experiences is key. “The guest feels like he or she is awaited, anticipated. It doesn’t matter whether the house is luxurious or not. What matters is that sense of being welcome, of being at home,” he declares.
Both networks currently operating in the city plan to double the number of homestay residences on their books by the time Rio hosts the Olympic Games in 2016. Rio’s local government is supporting and incentivising this expansion on the basis that it’s good for everyone: carioca hosts, Brazilian tourists and, of course, international visitors.
DETAILS
Further information on the homestay residences mentioned in this article:
Joá homestay: http://bit.ly/119xR6n
Copacabana homestay: http://bit.ly/16KSHlB
Santa Teresa homestay: http://bit.ly/10MTGwX
For more homestay options:
Bed & Breakfast Brasil
www.bbrasil.com
Cama e Café
www.camaecafe.com.br
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