Last updated: June 6, 2026
This Hosting Agreement explains the basic rules, responsibilities, and expectations for hosts who list, manage, or offer accommodation, homestays, rooms, shared spaces, local stays, cultural stays, food-related stay experiences, or similar hosting services through EthnicBNB.
EthnicBNB is a platform that helps guests discover and book stays offered by independent hosts. We want every stay to be safe, honest, respectful, lawful, and comfortable for both guests and hosts. This Agreement is written in simple language so that hosts can understand what is expected before listing a property, accepting a booking, or receiving payouts.
By creating, publishing, editing, managing, or continuing to keep a listing active on EthnicBNB, you agree to follow this Hosting Agreement, the Terms of Service, Privacy Policy, Cancellation Policy, Payments page, Disclaimer, General Terms, and any booking-specific rules shown on the platform. If there is a conflict between this Agreement and a booking-specific rule shown at the time of booking, the booking-specific rule may apply to that booking, unless the law requires otherwise.
You should list a property only if you have the legal right, authority, permission, and practical ability to host guests safely. You are responsible for the information you provide, the stay you offer, and the experience guests receive.
Introduction
Who Can Host
Your Authority to List a Property
Property Permissions and Local Laws
Listing Accuracy
Photos, Videos, and Edited Images
Pricing, Fees, and Availability
House Rules
Safety, Hygiene, and Emergency Standards
Guest Records and Legal Compliance
Foreign Guest / C-Form Responsibility, Where Applicable
Food, Culture, Language, Religion, Ethnicity, and Identity Information
Non-Discrimination and Respectful Hosting
Booking Acceptance and Host Cancellation
Check-In, Check-Out, and Guest Support
Taxes, GST, PAN, and Income Responsibility
Host Payouts
Platform Service Fee / Commission
Damages, Security Deposit, and Extra Charges
Guest Privacy and Data Protection
Prohibited Host Conduct
Reviews and Ratings
Listing Review, Suspension, and Delisting
Independent Host Relationship
Changes to this Hosting Agreement
Hosts are responsible for the listings they publish and the stays they provide. A good listing should be clear, truthful, complete, and easy for guests to understand before they make payment. Guests should not have to guess what is included, what is shared, what is private, what costs extra, or what rules apply.
This Agreement is designed to protect guests, hosts, and the EthnicBNB platform. It explains what hosts must do before listing a property, during the booking process, during the guest’s stay, and after the stay is completed.
EthnicBNB may provide tools for search, booking, payment, messaging, cancellation, reviews, and support. However, the host remains responsible for the property, local permissions, guest handling, safety, hygiene, taxes, records, and the accuracy of all listing information. EthnicBNB does not become the owner, operator, landlord, tenant, caretaker, hotel manager, travel agent, or legal controller of the host’s property unless a separate written agreement clearly says so.
You should read this Agreement carefully before hosting. If you do not agree with these rules, you should not create or continue a listing on EthnicBNB.
To host on EthnicBNB, you must be at least 18 years old and legally capable of entering into a contract. You must provide accurate information about yourself, your contact details, your property, your bank or payout details, and any tax details requested by the platform.
If you are hosting on behalf of a company, family member, owner, landlord, society, hotel, homestay business, trust, partnership, or any other person or organisation, you confirm that you are authorised to act for them. You must not create a listing using false identity details, fake documents, misleading business information, or another person’s property without permission.
EthnicBNB may ask for identity verification, phone verification, email verification, property verification, tax details, address details, payout verification, safety information, or other documents. Listing approval or account access may be delayed, limited, paused, or denied if required information is missing, unclear, false, expired, or inconsistent.
You must list only a property that you own, control, manage, or are legally authorised to offer for paid guest stays. If you are not the owner, you must have proper permission from the owner, landlord, lawful controller, society, association, property manager, hotel operator, or other authorised person.
Tenants, caretakers, brokers, relatives, employees, and property managers must make sure their agreement allows paid hosting. A property should not be listed if the lease, society rules, loan terms, local authority rules, building rules, family ownership dispute, or any other restriction does not allow short-term stays, guest accommodation, commercial hosting, or paid use.
If any dispute arises about ownership, possession, permission, or authority, EthnicBNB may request documents, pause the listing, hold payouts, cancel affected bookings, or remove the listing until the matter is resolved. EthnicBNB is not responsible for private disputes between owners, tenants, managers, family members, landlords, societies, or business partners.
You are responsible for understanding and following all laws, permissions, and local rules that apply to your property and hosting activity. These may include municipal rules, tourism or homestay registration, hotel or lodging requirements, fire safety rules, electrical safety, building safety, hygiene rules, society or apartment association rules, landlord consent, police record requirements, guest register rules, food service rules, tax rules, and any other applicable law.
Some locations may allow short-term stays freely, some may require registration, and some may restrict or prohibit certain types of paid hosting. EthnicBNB cannot confirm every local rule for every host. Before publishing a listing, you should check what applies to your location and property type.
If a government authority, society, landlord, owner, resident welfare association, police department, court, or regulator objects to your listing or asks for action, EthnicBNB may review the matter and may remove or restrict the listing. You agree that you are responsible for any penalties, disputes, claims, losses, or legal issues arising from hosting without required permission.
Your listing must describe the stay honestly and completely. Guests should receive what was shown and promised at the time of booking. You must accurately mention the property type, room type, number of rooms, number of beds, bathroom access, shared areas, private areas, kitchen access, food options, amenities, facilities, parking, location, nearby landmarks, accessibility, check-in method, safety features, restrictions, extra charges, and house rules.
You should not exaggerate, hide important information, or create a false impression. For example, do not describe a shared room as private, do not show facilities that are not available, do not hide construction work or access problems, and do not claim a view, location, food service, cultural experience, or amenity that guests will not actually receive.
If something changes after a booking is accepted, you should inform the guest and EthnicBNB as soon as possible. Changes may include unavailable amenities, repair work, safety issues, access restrictions, water or electricity problems, food unavailability, change in check-in process, or any condition that may affect the guest’s stay.
Photos and videos are important because guests rely on them before booking. Your images must show the real stay honestly. They should represent the actual property, room, entrance, bathroom, bed, common areas, view, kitchen, food area, and amenities as they normally appear.
You may improve brightness, crop images, or use reasonable editing for clarity, but you must not mislead guests. Do not use old photos that no longer match the property. Do not use photos of another property, another room, nearby attractions in a confusing way, or AI-generated images that make the stay look better than it is.
If you use edited or AI-enhanced images, they must still reflect the actual stay. The guest should not arrive and feel that the listing created a false impression about size, cleanliness, condition, safety, access, view, decoration, facilities, or comfort.
EthnicBNB may remove photos, request updated images, reduce listing visibility, pause the listing, or take other action if images are misleading or create guest complaints.
You are responsible for keeping your price, availability, minimum stay, maximum stay, guest capacity, extra guest charges, cleaning charges, food charges, taxes, deposits, and other fees accurate and updated. Guests should be able to understand the payable amount before confirming a booking.
Do not advertise one price and then demand a higher price later. Do not ask guests to pay hidden charges outside the approved platform process. If a fee is optional, it should be clearly described. If a fee is mandatory, it should be shown before booking wherever possible.
Availability must also be kept accurate. You should block dates when the property is unavailable because of personal use, repairs, maintenance, local restrictions, previous bookings, events, or any other reason. Accepting a booking for unavailable dates creates a bad guest experience and may lead to cancellation consequences.
House rules help guests understand how to use the property respectfully. Your house rules must be clear, lawful, reasonable, and visible before booking wherever relevant.
House rules may include check-in time, check-out time, quiet hours, visitor policy, smoking policy, alcohol policy, food rules, pet policy, parking rules, use of kitchen, use of common areas, cultural expectations, local community rules, and safety instructions.
House rules must not discriminate against guests or violate applicable law. You should not use house rules to hide extra charges, apply unfair restrictions, or treat guests differently because of religion, caste, ethnicity, language, gender, disability, nationality, food preference, family status, or any protected or sensitive attribute.
If a guest breaks reasonable house rules, you should communicate respectfully and use platform support where needed. You should not threaten, harass, lock out, remove belongings, or take unlawful action.
Every host should provide a stay that is clean, safe, and suitable for guests. The property should be reasonably maintained and should not expose guests to avoidable risk.
You should provide working locks, safe access, clean bedding, clean bathrooms, safe electrical fittings, safe drinking water where offered, proper ventilation, and accurate emergency contact information. You should disclose any material safety issue before booking or as soon as it becomes known.
If your property has stairs, open balconies, pets, shared entry, CCTV in permitted common areas, water bodies, high-risk areas, limited mobile network, power backup limitations, or any other important safety condition, you should mention it clearly.
You should not host guests in unsafe, unhygienic, illegal, unfinished, structurally weak, or uninhabitable spaces. If an urgent safety issue arises during a stay, you must take quick action to protect the guest and inform EthnicBNB support where necessary.
Hosts may be required by law or local practice to maintain guest records, check identity documents, record check-in details, or provide information to authorities when lawfully required. You are responsible for knowing what applies to your property and location.
You should collect only the information necessary for booking, stay management, safety, and legal compliance. Guest documents and personal details must be handled carefully. Do not misuse guest identity documents, phone numbers, email addresses, travel details, photos, or messages.
If you are required to maintain a register or submit guest information to an authority, you must do so lawfully and within the required timeline. EthnicBNB may cooperate with lawful requests from authorities, but that does not remove your own compliance responsibility as host.
Where foreign guest reporting, C-Form submission, police verification, immigration reporting, or similar record obligations apply, the host is responsible for following the required process and timelines.
If you accept foreign guests, you should understand whether your stay type and location require additional reporting. You should not accept a booking if you are unable to comply with required foreign guest procedures.
Guests may not know local reporting rules. Therefore, the host should clearly communicate any legally required document collection, timing, or check-in process in a respectful and privacy-conscious way. You should never collect unnecessary sensitive information or use guest nationality information for discrimination.
EthnicBNB may allow hosts and guests to share information about food preferences, culture, language, religion, ethnicity, identity, local traditions, and community experience. This information is meant to help guests discover stays where communication, comfort, food, and local experience may be better understood.
For example, a host may mention available food type, language known, local cultural setting, prayer space availability, dietary limitations, vegetarian or non-vegetarian kitchen practices, or local customs. Such information should be accurate, respectful, and useful for discovery.
This information must not be used to exclude, reject, insult, harass, overcharge, or treat guests unfairly. Hosts must not use cultural, religious, ethnic, language, caste, food, or identity-related information for discrimination. The purpose is better communication and clearer expectations, not unfair treatment.
If a listing contains offensive, misleading, hateful, exclusionary, or discriminatory language, EthnicBNB may edit, restrict, suspend, or remove the listing.
Hosts must treat guests fairly, respectfully, and lawfully. You must not reject, cancel, harass, overcharge, provide lower-quality service, or create unsafe conditions for a guest because of religion, caste, ethnicity, language, gender, disability, nationality, food preference, family status, marital status, age, cultural identity, or any protected or sensitive attribute under applicable law.
You may set reasonable rules for safety, capacity, property use, quiet hours, pets, smoking, check-in, or local compliance. However, rules must be applied fairly and must not be a hidden way to discriminate.
Respectful hosting also means communicating politely, giving accurate information, respecting guest privacy, handling complaints calmly, and asking for platform support when a problem cannot be resolved directly.
EthnicBNB may investigate discrimination complaints. If a host is found to be using the platform unfairly or harmfully, EthnicBNB may cancel bookings, hold payouts, reduce visibility, suspend the account, or remove the listing.
You should accept bookings only when you can honour the stay. Once a booking is accepted, the guest expects the property, dates, price, rules, and facilities to be available as shown.
Host cancellations create stress, cost, and inconvenience for guests. If you cancel without a valid reason, EthnicBNB may apply consequences such as guest refund, payout hold, ranking impact, calendar block, support review, penalty, suspension, or delisting. The actual action may depend on the reason, timing, guest impact, repeated behaviour, payment status, and platform rules.
Valid reasons may include emergency safety issues, serious property damage, legal restriction, natural disaster, unavoidable maintenance, or other exceptional circumstances. Even in such cases, you should inform EthnicBNB and the guest as soon as possible.
You must not pressure a guest to cancel so that you can avoid host cancellation consequences. You must not cancel a confirmed booking to accept another booking at a higher price.
Hosts should provide clear check-in and check-out instructions. Guests should know the correct address, arrival process, contact person, check-in time, parking information, entry method, and any document requirement before arrival.
During the stay, hosts should be reasonably available for important support issues. This does not mean a host must be available every minute, but guests should have a working contact method for urgent stay-related matters.
If there is a problem with the room, water, electricity, lock, internet, cleanliness, safety, food, access, or any promised amenity, you should respond in a practical and respectful way. Where possible, fix the issue quickly. If the issue cannot be fixed, contact EthnicBNB support.
At check-out, hosts should not create unnecessary delay, demand hidden fees, hold guest belongings, or make unsupported claims. Any damage or extra charge request should follow platform rules and be supported by evidence.
Hosts are responsible for understanding and handling their own tax obligations. This may include income reporting, PAN details, GST registration where applicable, invoices, local taxes, professional tax advice, and any other tax-related requirement.
EthnicBNB may request tax details from hosts, show tax information during booking, withhold amounts where required, report transactions where legally required, or adjust payout flows based on tax and payment rules.
The platform may provide records, invoices, payout summaries, or transaction information for convenience, but this does not replace professional tax advice. Hosts should consult a qualified tax professional if they are unsure about GST, income tax, invoices, TDS, local taxes, or business registration.
You must not use EthnicBNB to hide income, avoid taxes, create false invoices, misuse another person’s tax details, or provide incorrect tax information.
Host payouts depend on many factors, including booking status, cancellation rules, refund risk, payment gateway settlement, guest payment success, chargebacks, fraud review, tax details, bank verification, account status, legal holds, and platform service fees.
A booking shown as confirmed on the platform does not always mean payout is immediately available. Payment may still be subject to gateway processing, settlement timing, risk checks, refund windows, or disputes.
If a guest cancels, does not show up, checks out early, raises a serious complaint, disputes payment, or receives a refund, the host payout may be reduced, delayed, held, reversed, or adjusted according to the applicable policy.
Hosts should provide accurate bank and payout details. EthnicBNB is not responsible for delay or loss caused by incorrect bank details, inactive accounts, mismatched names, failed verification, gateway delay, banking issue, or legal restriction.
EthnicBNB may charge a platform service fee, commission, payment fee, technology fee, or similar charge as shown through the booking, payout, admin, or account flow. The exact rate, calculation method, tax treatment, and deduction process may depend on current platform settings, applicable law, property type, booking type, location, offer, and payment method.
This page should not be treated as fixing one permanent fee rate. The live platform, booking summary, payout summary, invoice, or admin setting may show the applicable fee for a specific transaction.
Hosts must not mislead guests about platform fees. Hosts must not ask guests to pay outside the platform to avoid service fees, taxes, gateway charges, or platform rules. Off-platform payment requests may lead to suspension, delisting, payout hold, or other action.
If a security deposit, damage recovery, cleaning fee, late check-out fee, lost key fee, or other charge applies, it should be clearly disclosed before booking wherever possible and handled according to platform rules.
A host must not demand undisclosed deposits or surprise charges after arrival. Any damage claim should be reasonable, truthful, supported by evidence, and connected to the guest’s stay. Evidence may include photos, videos, invoices, repair estimates, check-in records, check-out records, messages, or other relevant proof.
Normal wear and tear should not be treated as damage. Hosts should not exaggerate claims, create false damage reports, or use deposits unfairly.
If a dispute arises, EthnicBNB may review the available information, but it may not be able to prove every claim. Legal rights of guests and hosts remain subject to applicable law.
Hosts must respect guest privacy. Guest contact details, identity details, travel plans, messages, documents, booking information, payment-related information, and personal preferences must be kept confidential and used only for booking, stay, safety, support, and legal compliance.
You must not sell, share, publish, misuse, or store guest data for unrelated purposes. You must not contact guests for unrelated marketing unless proper consent is obtained where required by law. You must not upload guest documents, photos, phone numbers, or private messages publicly.
CCTV or monitoring devices must never be placed in private spaces such as bedrooms, bathrooms, changing areas, or any space where guests reasonably expect privacy. If cameras exist in common or outdoor areas for safety, they should be disclosed clearly where required.
Hosts must not enter a guest’s private room during the stay except in an emergency, with guest permission, for agreed housekeeping, or where lawfully required.
The following conduct is not allowed on EthnicBNB:
Creating false or misleading listings.
Listing a property without permission.
Hiding fees or demanding extra payment outside platform rules.
Asking guests to pay off-platform.
Cancelling confirmed bookings without valid reason.
Pressuring guests to cancel.
Discriminating against guests.
Harassing, threatening, insulting, or abusing guests.
Misusing guest personal information.
Creating fake reviews or manipulating ratings.
Offering unsafe, illegal, unhygienic, or uninhabitable stays.
Avoiding taxes or providing false tax information.
Subletting unlawfully.
Ignoring lawful authority requirements.
Sharing guest documents or private messages without lawful reason.
Using the platform for fraud, money laundering, illegal activity, or harmful conduct.
EthnicBNB may take action if prohibited conduct is reported or detected. Action may include warning, content removal, booking cancellation, payout hold, account restriction, listing suspension, delisting, or legal cooperation where required.
Reviews help guests and hosts build trust. Hosts may respond to reviews, but responses must be respectful, truthful, and relevant.
You must not offer money, gifts, discounts, threats, pressure, or special treatment in exchange for a favourable review. You must not punish, harass, or retaliate against a guest for writing an honest review. You must not create fake bookings or fake reviews.
If you believe a review is false, abusive, discriminatory, irrelevant, or violates platform rules, you may report it to EthnicBNB support. EthnicBNB may review the content and decide whether to keep, hide, edit, or remove it according to platform policy.
A negative review by itself does not always mean the guest or host has broken rules. Reviews are personal experiences, but they should not include private information, hate speech, threats, or knowingly false claims.
EthnicBNB may review, restrict, suspend, or remove a listing if there are concerns about accuracy, safety, legality, ownership, permission, guest complaints, payment risk, fraud, discrimination, repeated cancellations, poor service, missing documents, tax issues, or breach of platform rules.
EthnicBNB may also pause a listing while reviewing documents, complaints, disputes, authority notices, payment problems, or unusual activity.
Delisting does not always mean the host has committed wrongdoing. Sometimes a listing may be paused because information is incomplete, verification is pending, or a legal question needs clarification.
If your listing is suspended or removed, you may contact support and provide relevant documents or explanation. EthnicBNB may decide whether to restore the listing, keep restrictions, cancel bookings, or take further action.
Hosts are independent users, individuals, property owners, managers, or businesses. Hosts are not employees, agents, partners, franchisees, representatives, or joint venturers of EthnicBNB unless a separate written agreement clearly states otherwise.
EthnicBNB provides platform tools for listing, discovery, booking, payment, communication, and support. The host remains responsible for the property and the stay.
You are responsible for your own actions, staff, caretakers, co-hosts, cleaners, managers, family members, service providers, and anyone else involved in hosting on your behalf. If your staff or representative interacts with guests, you must ensure they follow this Agreement and platform rules.
Nothing in this Agreement creates an employment relationship between EthnicBNB and the host.
EthnicBNB may update this Hosting Agreement from time to time to reflect platform changes, legal requirements, safety practices, payment changes, guest expectations, host requirements, or operational improvements.
When we update this Agreement, we may change the “Last updated” date. Important changes may also be communicated through the website, account notice, email, or other reasonable method.
Your continued use of EthnicBNB as a host after an update means you accept the updated Agreement. If you do not agree with the updated terms, you should stop hosting, remove your listing, or contact support before accepting further bookings.
Booking-specific rules already shown to a guest may continue to apply to that booking unless the law or platform safety requirements require otherwise.