Virtual VS Physical Tour Of A PG/Hostel – Things To Keep In Mind

Got no option but to take a virtual tour of your shortlisted PG accommodation? Well, we get you. As much as we love things going digital, there are a few things that are done better IRL. But let’s face it, it’s not the end of the world. Actually, in today’s day and age, virtual tours might just suit your way better in terms of convenience. But honestly, that’s your call to make. We’re just here to make it easier for you to take the right one. By listing the pros and cons of taking both virtual and physical tours of paying guest accommodations

No thanks needed tho. We’re just glad to keep looking out for young folks like you who are living a long way from home. Just like we do at our 450+ Stanza Living residences in 24+ cities. By preparing homely meals, taking out your laundry, and cleaning your rooms every day. But enough about us. Just move on and note down the list of things to keep in mind while choosing between a virtual tour versus a physical tour of a PG accommodation. After reading these out, you’d be sorted. As sorted as a frog when it’s raining.

Pros and Cons of Taking a Virtual Tour of a PG or a Hostel Room

Slow down, bruh. The pros and cons of taking a virtual tour are listed right down below:

Pros:

Convenience

No surprises here. Taking a virtual tour is much more convenient. Especially because you can do it even before you land in the new city. And that should be the aim anyway. Given you’d prolly have to run around for the admission formalities at your college. Plus, you also save on commuting without having to visit each and every property on your shortlist. The money that you can use later to buy a sunset lamp for your room, innit?

Easier to Compare Properties

If you’re PG-hunting, you’d like to give yourself more options before you select your final prey, wouldn’t ya? Yes. So let’s say, you shortlist 7-8 properties from online rental listing websites. Well, then you can opt for virtual tours to narrow the list down to at least three. This way, you can do a physical run visiting these properties and finally settle for the best among them. Think of it like how you’d check the latest collection of Decathlon online and then visit the store to purchase the items later.

Ability to Repeat The Tour

Traveling all the way to check out a property is already taxing. So imagine if you have to go back again. Maybe because you’ve come across another good property and now you can’t seem to decide between the two. In this and any other similar case, virtual tours are just better because you can do it again, and again, and again. Until it feels right and you decide to lock it in.

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Cons:

Your mum might have told you this very early in your life. That is, the fact that everything has its own share of both pros and cons. And so here are the cons of taking virtual tours:

Less Scope for Investigation

Sure, you might be very thorough. But in a virtual tour, there’s more probability of you missing the finer details. So you gotta be careful. Otherwise, these small things will haunt you later after you move in. Kinda like how the supervillain in spy movies sighs after realizing they forgot to tie one loose end.

Less Accessible

Even if the PG owners use high-quality videos and photos, what about network issues? Also, let’s face it, most PG owners might not even have a good device for a proper tour. And even in the case they do, it might just be a boomer uncle who holds the camera in a way that makes you observe more of the muscles on his neck than the PG room design itself. Lmao.

More Room for Scams

Here’s the news, it’s easier to scam a person online. So virtual tours might be convenient, but there’s always a chance that the person on the other side is a fraudster. So you should be relentless in asking them to show each and every part of the PG room. And also verify all the paying guest accommodation rules. Coz you never know when you find skeletons in the closet later. Both literally and figuratively.

Pros and Cons of a Physical Tour of a PG or a Hostel Room

Moving on, it’s now the turn for physical tours to display their pros and cons:

Pros:

The Better Idea of The Locality

Virtual tours are still fine when it comes to getting a rough idea of a property. What about the locality though? Sure, you can check out the routes via Google Maps. But trust us, you never know how the commute actually works (for example, Maps won’t tell you that it takes a lot of time to get autos from the area). On top of that, you need a walk to truly understand the vibe of a locality. And that’s not something that is included in virtual tours. So there’s that.

Thorough Experience

In physical tours, you’re fully present. And so is your mind. When you move through the property in physical tours, the necessary questions automatically pop up in your head. For example, you look at the washroom faucet. You think to ask ‘is the water supply running 24 hours?’. Plus, forget questions. The washroom faucet might even look completely different when it’s shown online. Now, a washroom faucet may not be your no.1 priority, but hope you get our point.

Ability to Verify The Amenities

In most cases, claims don’t match the actual reality. So when a rental listing says the room has an AC, you don’t know what kind of AC. What if it’s older than your grandma’s heirloom necklace and produces an equally expensive bill? Well, in that case, nothing’s better than a physical tour to check whether the PG owner is being true to their claims. Jago grahak jago, bros.

Cons:

Expensive

As we’ve already mentioned, a physical tour can be really expensive. Especially when you’ve got no time to take public transport and end up spending a fortune on cab fares alone. So be wise not to visit a hundred different properties. Or else, the money you saved by not hiring a broker will be gone to cabs, autos, and occasionally, on chai stalls where you’d stop by after visiting a property.

Time-consuming

Time is money plus loads of effort. But still, you’d have been able to spend it if you were not busy already. Changing your job. Admitting yourself to a new college. These are just a few of the things that you’d be occupied with when you land in a new city. Amidst that, a physical tour might just feel like a punishment after spending the last four hours waiting in line to submit your demand draft to your college admin. Argghhh.

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