Trust & Safety

Pravaasa Stays is a marketplace between travellers and independent hosts. Our job is to make that relationship as safe and honest as possible: by checking who hosts are, reviewing listings before guests can see them, protecting payments, keeping reviews real, and acting quickly when something is wrong.

We are a platform, not the owner or operator of the stays on it. We cannot supervise what happens inside a property or guarantee any particular outcome, but we can set clear rules, check what we can, and act on what we learn. This page explains how, and tells you what to do if you spot a problem.

We do not encourage or tolerate scams, fake listings, fake reviews, off-platform payment pressure, deposit fraud, bait-and-switch, or discrimination. Anyone who does these things can lose their listing, their payouts, and their account.

Pravaasa is not an emergency service, a police force, or an insurer. We do not guarantee the condition, safety, or legal compliance of any property or the behaviour of any person. Optional Pravaasa Protect, where offered, is booking support and recovery assistance, and is not insurance. We do not provide a 24-hour telephone line.

In an emergency, contact local emergency services first (112 in India). Then tell us, so we can help with the booking.

Use the Trust & Safety Action Center on this page. You can report:

- A property (Report a Property): inaccurate or stolen photos, a misleading description, a false location, an unlicensed or unsafe stay, or a listing that does not exist. Open /trust-and-safety?action=report-property.

- A guest (Report a Guest): a guest who broke house rules, caused damage, harassed anyone, or gave a false identity. Open /trust-and-safety?action=report-guest.

- Fraud (Report Fraud): off-platform payment requests, deposit scams, impersonation, phishing, or fake reviews. Open /trust-and-safety?action=report-fraud.

- Another issue (Report an Issue): booking discrepancies, check-in access problems, or anything else about trust and safety. Open /trust-and-safety?action=report-issue.

To help us act, include the property name or link, your booking reference (if you have one), dates, a short description of what happened, and screenshots or photos. Do not include passwords, OTPs, or card details.

You can also email support@pravaasastays.com or use the Support page. If you are a traveller with a booking, open a support case from the Support tab of your account (/account), and find your bookings under My Trips (/trips). If you are a host, use the Damage & Disputes area of your owner dashboard (/dashboard) for a damage claim or dispute about a booking.

Your report is reviewed by our team. We read what you sent, look at the listing, the booking, the messages, and the payments involved, and where necessary ask you or the other party for more information. Reports are typically reviewed by our team, but the time depends on how serious and complex the case is, and we do not promise a fixed response time. For urgent safety matters, call emergency services first.

Depending on what we find, we may close the report, ask the user to fix the problem, remove content, unlist a property, hold or forfeit a payout, cancel a booking and help the guest find an alternative, suspend or terminate an account, or refer the matter to the authorities where the law requires.

We keep reports as confidential as we can. We share what is needed to investigate with the people involved, and we may be required to share information with authorities. Because we handle people's privacy, we may not be able to tell you the details of what we did, but we will tell you when a case has been resolved where we can.

Making a deliberately false report to harm someone is itself a violation of our rules.

Be careful if anyone:

- Asks you to pay a deposit, advance, balance, or 'confirmation fee' by direct UPI, bank transfer, cash, or a payment link outside Pravaasa.

- Offers a discount or a 'better price' if you pay or book outside the platform.

- Pushes you to move a chat to another app quickly, or says a booking will be cancelled unless you pay now.

- Asks for your OTP, card PIN, UPI PIN, or password. Pravaasa never does.

- Sends you a payment screenshot, receipt, or link to 'prove' a payment, or asks you to 'refund' an overpayment.

- Shows photos that look like stock images, a map pin that does not match the address, or a price far below similar stays.

- Claims to be from Pravaasa, a bank, or a payment provider and contacts you through a personal number or an unofficial link.

If you see these signs, stop, do not pay, and report it using Report Fraud.

Always pay and get paid through Pravaasa. Guests: check that your booking appears under My Trips in your account after paying. Hosts: treat a payment as received only when it is shown as such in the Payouts & Escrow area of your dashboard. Never accept a screenshot, cheque, or transfer receipt as proof of payment.

If a host or guest asks you to pay or receive money outside the platform, you may lose the protection of our refund and dispute processes. Report the request.

You sign in with a mobile OTP, an email magic link, or Google Sign-In. Never share an OTP or magic link, never forward a magic link, and sign out on shared devices.

Travellers can set up authenticator-app protection and sign out of all devices from the account settings (/account). If you think your account has been taken over, sign out everywhere, and contact support@pravaasastays.com immediately.

Keep your contact details and payout details up to date. Hosts should tell us if a manager or staff member who had access has left.

Use platform messages (your Host Messages tab in /account, or Guest Messages in /dashboard) and the WhatsApp host chat for your booking. Keep conversations respectful. Harassment, threats, discrimination, sexual advances, and abusive language are not allowed. Do not share other people's personal information.

If you receive a threatening or abusive message, keep a screenshot and report it.

If something goes wrong in a stay, talk to the other party first. If that does not work, open a support case or a dispute. Travellers can open a support case from the Support tab of /account (categories include Reservation, Payment, Trust, Safety & Access, and Amenity Discrepancy). Hosts can use the Damage & Disputes area of /dashboard.

A damage claim must be supported by photos or documents. Pravaasa never automatically charges a guest's card for a claim: our team looks at both sides' evidence before any outcome. Where a booking is disrupted, you may be shown alternative stays in your account.

Everyone on Pravaasa deserves respect. No host, guest, or organiser may discriminate against, harass, or demean another person because of their caste, religion, race, ethnicity, nationality, gender, sexual orientation, disability, or other protected identity. Reports of discrimination are treated as serious.

Violations of our rules, including fake or misleading listings, off-platform payment pressure, deposit fraud, bait-and-switch, fake reviews, hidden cameras, discrimination, harassment, and illegal activity, can result in:

- Removal or unlisting of a property, or removal of reviews and content.

- A hold on payouts, or forfeiture of payouts in confirmed cases.

- Cancellation of bookings, with refunds for affected guests where appropriate.

- Suspension or permanent termination of an account.

- Referral to the police or other authorities where required.

See Prohibited Properties & Activities for the full list of banned listings and conduct.

PRAVAASA STAYS IS NOT AN EMERGENCY RESPONSE SERVICE OR POLICE SERVICE. If you or someone else is in immediate danger, needs medical help, or there is a fire or a physical threat, contact local emergency services at once (dial 112 in India, or your local emergency number elsewhere) before you contact Pravaasa.

For help with a safety, trust, or fraud concern, use the reporting options above, email support@pravaasastays.com, or visit the Support page. We aim to respond to support emails within one business day.