India's Evolving Short-Stay Love Hotels

In socially conservative India, finding privacy can be harder than finding love itself. In this episode, we explore the rise of short-stay “love hotels,” where unmarried couples can book rooms by the hour to escape joint families, cramped homes, and the risk of moral policing. Apps like Brevistay and StayUncle are trying to normalize intimacy by professionalizing what was once a shadowy arrangement—offering clean rooms, discreet check-ins, and even “love kits.” But can a business built on privacy survive in a culture that still treats young romance as a public offense? And what does this quiet hotel boom reveal about changing ideas of freedom, modernity, and desire in India today?https://www.economist.com/asia/2021/09/23/love-hotels-are-blossoming-in-india