Your place
has a story.

You may have started with a spare room, an old family home, a beautiful view or simply a desire to welcome people into the Kumaon you know.

Over time, you have built something that cannot really be described by the number of bedrooms, bathrooms or amenities you offer.

It is the morning light outside your window. The walk you take every evening. The food your family cooks. The person who knows the forest behind your house. The village down the road. The stories you tell your guests when they sit with you after dinner.

These are the things people remember.

Today, most homestays are presented in almost exactly the same way.

A few photographs. A price. A location. A list of amenities. Reviews. Availability.

And then you are placed beside hundreds of other properties, often competing largely on price and convenience.

We think there is another way.

We know what it takes to build a life in the hills.

We have been through the contractors who don't show up, the endless trips to the tehsil, the paperwork, the lawyers, the land questions, the roads that make everything a little harder and the many moments when you wonder why you decided to do this in the first place.

We know that coming to Kumaon is easy. Staying here is something else.

So, to those of you who stayed — who built your homes, opened your doors and chose to make a life here despite all the difficulties — congratulations. We are glad you stayed.

We are your neighbours. And we want to be around for the journey ahead.

Some people begin with a room.
A price. A view. A list of things it has.

And there is nothing wrong with that. We all travel differently.

But some people begin somewhere else.

They begin with a photograph of a mountain they have never seen. A story about a village they cannot yet place on a map. A conversation with someone who has spent twenty years walking the forests around their home.

They want to know what the mornings feel like. Where the road disappears. What grows in the garden. Who lives next door. Where the village goes when the tourists leave.

They are not simply looking for somewhere to sleep.

They are looking for somewhere they would like to be.

The ones who read before they arrive.
Who take the slower road when they can.
Who would rather spend an afternoon beneath a tree than tick another attraction off a list.

People who notice the old stone wall, the birds in the garden, the woman walking home with a basket, the path that leads somewhere Google Maps doesn't know about.

People who come to Kumaon not simply to see the mountains, but to feel a little closer to them.

A beautiful photograph. A short film. A story about a morning at your homestay. A traveller talking about what they discovered around you.

This is the kind of media that makes someone stop, look, and imagine themselves being there.

We help you create it.

We bring together hosts and storytellers — photographers, filmmakers, writers and travellers — who can spend time at your place and create stories that show people what staying with you actually feels like.

These stories live on your That Time page, but they are yours to use beyond it too.

Send them to someone who has enquired about staying with you. Share them on WhatsApp. Put them on your website. Post them on Instagram. Use them when you are talking to your next guest.

Instead of telling people what your homestay has, show them why they would want to come.

Not every place needs to be on That Time.

We are looking for homes with a little character, people with a point of view, and hosts who have chosen to build a life in Kumaon that is worth discovering.

It might be an old house with a hundred stories. A new home built with an old idea. A garden that has taken twenty years to grow. A family recipe. A favourite walk. A view that never gets old. Or simply a host who knows how to make a stranger feel at home.

These are the things we are interested in.

Because interesting places are made interesting by the people who live in them.

Imagine that someone discovers your homestay not because it was the cheapest available room, but because they saw a story about the life around it.

They see the forest outside your house.
They meet the people who run it.
They understand what makes the place special.
They discover what they can do nearby.
And only then do they decide they would like to stay with you.

That is the relationship we want to help create.

You are already busy running your homestay.

You shouldn't have to become a photographer, filmmaker, writer, Instagram manager and travel marketer just to tell people what makes your home special.

That is where we come in.

We are building a community of photographers, filmmakers, writers, travellers and creators who want to discover Kumaon differently.

We will help connect them with hosts whose stories they would genuinely like to discover and tell.

You welcome them as a gracious host.
They spend time understanding your place.
Together, you create something that represents you honestly.

And there is no content-production bill for you.

Finding the right storyteller is only the beginning.

We will help coordinate the relationship between you and the people creating your stories, so that you can concentrate on what you do best: hosting.

We want these relationships to continue over time rather than becoming a one-time content shoot.

A homestay shouldn't have to start from zero every time someone searches for it.

A new photographer might tell the story of your surroundings. A traveller might write about their stay. Another creator might discover the food you serve. Someone else might document a walk beginning from your doorstep.

Slowly, these become a collection of stories around your place.

A living presence online rather than a static listing.

We don't want storytellers to simply create beautiful work for free and disappear.

When their work helps a traveller discover your homestay and eventually results in a booking, we want them to participate in the value they helped create.

That gives everyone a reason to keep telling stories.

You get discovered.
The traveller finds a place they genuinely connect with.
The storyteller gets rewarded.
And That Time can continue building the relationship.

We don't want to turn Kumaon into a collection of hotel listings.

We want to help people discover the people, homes, villages, forests, rivers, food and experiences that make Kumaon what it is.

And we believe your homestay is an important part of that story.