ABSTRACT Homestay represents a tourism product constrained by space and dependent on regional context. While academic attention has grown toward studying homestay distribution patterns in urban areas, heritage destinations have received limited focus. This study establishes a two-scale analytical framework to explore the spatial evolution patterns and formation mechanism of the homestay industry in diverse heritage destinations, identifying the main factors influencing spatial heterogeneity through geographic detectors. Our findings elucidate several key insights: (a) a consistent annual growth trend, alongside a distinct clustering and spatial autocorrelation in the distribution of homestays across the three types of heritage destinations – natural, cultural, and mixed World Heritage sites; (b) the predominant influence of topography, tourism development levels, and transportation infrastructure in shaping the spatial differentiation of homestays; and (c) socioeconomic and tourism development factors emerging as the primary drivers of this differentiation, while the transportation factor, particularly road mileage, exhibits a heightened significance in natural heritage sites. This study offers insights for planning, marketing, and managing tourism heritage destinations.