Favela Guest houses for Rio Olympics

Several entrepreneurial favela residents are converting their humble homes into guesthouses, and are taking bookings for next summer’s Olympics, both from rich Brazilians and from overseas visitors.

Some people are prepared to risk all so that they can grab a bargain, since a government policy called “pacification” was introduced in 2008.

Under pacification, soldiers and marines supported by helicopters gunships and tanks went into favelas to drive out the gangs, seize control and enforce law of the land.

It is in these pacified favelas where guesthouses and B&Bs in shanty town of Copacabana and Rio’s other most famous beach Ipanema.

In 2009, Babilonia favela was pacified there was shootings and drug trafficking which was totally eradicated and now peace has prevailed and its probably more safer here than at the Copacabana beach.

The UK’s Foreign Office warns that all Rio’s favelas remain potentially dangerous, a shortage of hotel rooms in the City Centre means some visitors for the Olympics may have to opt for guest house accommodation in a pacified shanty town.

However, Rio is on target to meet the required minimum 40,000 hotel rooms, as set down by the International Olympic committee, most of these rooms are already taken up by Olympic families- officials, athletes, sponsors and media executives.

Brazilian tourist board is predicting over 500, 000 foreign visitors for the games.

To cater to this demand new Podusadas (B&Bs) are emerging across Rio’s non-favela areas, to rent out rooms for duration of 16 days during the Olympic games, which runs from 5 to 21 August 2016. The US website Airbnb allows homeowners to rent out properties onine to potential visitors. The rooms cost about 400 Brazilian Reals ( £55 $85) per room per person. Trip Advisor has rated Casa Cool beans in Rio’s Santa Teresa District as the city’s best B&B . As the larger hotels are poorly managed and attract adverse comments on Tripadvisor from their clientele , the visitors will go for more reliable B&Bs .

The favela guest house owners are learning how to give foreigners unique Brazilian hospitality experience, basic concepts associated with service presentation and delivery and give excellent customer service by providing the best experience possible including Brazilian cuisine and traditional drinks.

Spending the night in a shanty town may sound frightening to some, but others see it as an opportunity to meet working class ordinary Brazilians and bring people together and have the unique favela experience.