EkoStay, one of India’s fastest-growing professionally managed vacation rental brands, has announced the launch of Ekostay Stories, a new in-house podcast series that captures the unfiltered realities, untold stories, and behind-the-scenes moments of the villa and homestay ecosystem.
Positioned as both an industry conversation and a storytelling platform, Ekostay Stories moves beyond curated travel imagery and five-star captions to spotlight what actually goes on behind a stay. From guest behaviour and homeowner dynamics to operational chaos, humour, conflict, and unexpected moments, the podcast brings together voices from across the ecosystem including co-founders, guests, homeowners, vendors, and internal teams.
At a time when hospitality content is largely driven by surface-level reviews and influencer narratives, Ekostay Stories offers a refreshingly honest perspective. According to Skift’s 2025 travel media outlook, audiences are increasingly drawn to long-form, narrative-led content that explains how brands function behind the scenes, rather than just showcasing outcomes. Ekostay Stories taps directly into this shift, blending real-life drama, humour, and insight into a format that feels both entertaining and educational.
Why Ekostay Stories Was Created
Sharing the thinking behind the podcast, Varun Arora, CEO & Co-Founder, EkoStay, said that the idea stemmed from a clear gap in how the homestay industry communicates.
“Guests are already speaking online about their experiences, usually when something goes wrong. But what no one really talks about is everything that happens behind the scenes the coordination, the people management, the homeowner conversations, the pressure points. Ekostay Stories is our way of opening that door and showing the industry as it truly operates.”
He added that building and managing vacation homes is far more complex than it appears on social media. From sourcing a property and making it guest-ready to managing expectations across homeowners, staff, competitors, and even local authorities, the realities are layered and rarely visible.
“It’s not always pretty or simple. There’s a lot that goes on backstage, and we felt it was time someone spoke about it honestly from a founder’s perspective, a management perspective, and an industry perspective.”
A ‘Tea Party’ Format with Real Stories
Described internally as “not just a podcast, but a full tea party,” Ekostay Stories leans into candid conversations, villa secrets, guest confessions, and real moments that range from hilarious to hard-hitting. Early episode titles such as “Gayi Bhais Pool Mai” and “Signed & Shattered” hint at the tone unfiltered, humorous, dramatic, and deeply rooted in lived experiences.
This approach mirrors a broader content trend. A 2025 Deloitte report on consumer media behaviour noted that audiences increasingly engage with brands that are willing to show vulnerability and imperfection, especially in service-led industries. Ekostay Stories reflects this mindset by allowing multiple sides of the story to coexist guests, homeowners, teams, and founders all sharing their version of events.
Who the Podcast Speaks To
Ekostay Stories has been created with a wide audience in mind. It is equally relevant to hospitality and travel industry leaders, property owners, and aspiring hosts, as it is to travellers curious about how villa brands actually operate. The podcast also serves as a transparent window for current and future hospitality professionals, offering insight into the realities of working in a fast-growing, people-driven industry.
Importantly, the series also touches upon brand building. As highlighted in a December 2025 McKinsey report on service businesses in emerging markets, storytelling around operations, culture, and decision-making plays a critical role in building long-term trust. Ekostay Stories positions itself as a learning resource for entrepreneurs and founders building consumer-facing brands.
EkoStay Stories: Themes, Frequency, and the Road Ahead
Ekostay Stories will release one episode every week, with conversations spanning multiple dimensions of the hospitality business. Episodes will explore how EkoStay works with homeowners, manages competition, handles labour force challenges, navigates government regulations, and adapts to changing traveller behaviour.
Future conversations will also examine the rise of new travel audiences, longer stays, the impact of remote work culture, and how AI and technology are beginning to educate property owners, future hosts, and travellers alike. According to PwC’s 2025 travel and hospitality outlook, technology-led personalisation and transparency are emerging as key trust drivers in alternative accommodation a theme the podcast plans to explore in depth.
EkoStay Stories: Reflecting a Changing Hospitality Landscape
As India’s vacation rental sector continues to mature, the demand for authenticity, transparency, and deeper engagement is growing. Ekostay Stories reflects this shift by turning real experiences into shared conversations, offering a rare look at how hospitality brands are built, tested, and evolved in real time.
By blending industry insight with raw, sometimes messy storytelling, Ekostay Stories aims to carve out a unique space in India’s travel and startup content ecosystem one that informs, entertains, and sparks honest dialogue around modern hospitality.
