Senior citizens in Chennai turn good hosts to foreigners

Chennai: One of emotions that grip the hearts of senior citizens is loneliness. Once their children marry and go about creating a family of their own, parents have nothing but boredom.

This is the plight for many, especially to those who have their children living in abroad. But Vasantha (71) and her husband R Jairam (76) at Alwarpet have found a different way to stay busy.

The couple rent out the extra rooms in their homes for guests which they started in October 2016 as they wanted to earn an additional source of income. They have children who live abroad.

One of their friends suggested them to sign up to Airbnb.com where property owners can put their profiles and the photos of the rooms they are willing to rent out. Interested guests can reach them through this website.

“Once we signed up, we started getting guests,” says Vasantha. “From then on, there has been no looking back.” She adds that whenever their children visit their home, the couple have the option to temporarily remove their rooms from the Airbnb listing .

The couple say that they are happy to host guests from across the globe. Allowing strangers into their homes with welcome arms has helped them to stay connected.

“It happens to many parents,” says Vasantha. The retired principal of Boston School in Nandanam adds, “We also have guests who have been coming again and again.”

Vasantha says that the guests love the food we serve. “The foreigners ask for idlies or dosas,” she laughs.

Jairam, then speaks about the guests. “For instance, a man from Israel who is a musician came to our home. He shared us about his culture, about his country’s history. Then there was another lady from England. She is a cello player. We have hosted many Europeans. We also had a guest from the Reunion Island which I have never heard before. We have had varied experiences.”

What gives them the joy?

“Because we love to meet people,” smiles Vasantha. “My husband loves to interacts with people of different culture. I love to talk to them about their way of living. So we both enjoy such guests in our own way.”

Jairam also adds that they are very fortunate to have excellent guests. The couple also hold the Superhost Badge by Airbnb which is awarded to those who get overwhelmingly positive response from guests.

“They are many places who call themselves home stays or serviced apartments but if you think about it, such places just give out rooms,” says Jairam. “Most of the children live abroad and they hardly have time. But this concept of home stay has been an extremely enjoyable experience as we get to meet foreigners.”

For details, contact Vasantha at 94443 76190.