Becoming a Homestay Provider

Could you be a homestay provider?

• Do you have a spare room that is clean, private, and decorated to a good standard?
• Do you enjoy meeting people from all over the world?
• Could you provide a warm welcome to an international guest?
• Would you welcome an additional weekly income?
• Would you welcome some extra company?
• Would you like to host for only part of the year without the inconvenience of a long-term lodger?

Who are our homestay providers?

Our homestay providers come from various ethnicities and are carefully selected for their friendliness, hospitality, and willingness to welcome international guests into their home and family.

Our homestay hosts are made up of some of the following:

• Couples with or without children
• Retired couples
• Single parents
• Lone adults
• Mature students

Accommodation types

Our students are offered two types of homestay accommodation:

Standard and Premier

All rooms must have

• a table or desk large enough for studying, plus a chair
• a wardrobe
• a chest of drawers or drawers in the wardrobe
• a mirror
• good lighting – ideally with good natural light
• a comfortable bed, bedside table, and lamp
• central heating
• wireless broadband internet
• space for a suitcase

Premier

This means a well-appointed room with easy access to a private bathroom

What do we ask of our homestay hosts?

We ask that our hosts welcome their guests into their home as a member of the family and not simply as a paying guest.

On your guests’ arrival at your home and during their stay, please take the time to give them an orientation of your local area, including how to use Canterbury transport and how to purchase a mega rider, mobile phone or sim card, for example. We also ask that our hosts exchange mobile numbers with their guests in case of emergency, especially in the first few days of their arrival to the UK. This is also a good way to keep in touch with your student for evening meal plans.

• We request that our hosts have their evening meals with their guests and engage in conversation with them daily.
• It is very important that hosts do not accommodate two guests with the same native language at the same time unless agreed with LanguageUK.

Hosts responsibilities

• Provide a warm welcome and treat the student like family
• Advise the student about the homestay neighbourhood and their route to school
• Allow access to common areas in the house (e.g. kitchen, living room, garden) and to keep these shared areas clean and tidy
• Furnish bedrooms with a comfortable, standard bed, wardrobe, drawers, and study desk
• Student rooms should be cleaned weekly and fresh bed linen.
• Give access to the laundry facilities so students can launder their own clothes
• Where provided meals should be shared with the family and be varied and nutritional
• Keep the school informed about any problems the student may be experiencing
• Respect students’ different cultural backgrounds and to be sensitive to their needs
• Encourage the students to practise their speaking at home
• Be present in the home during the student’s stay
• Supply a key so the student can have easy access to the homestay
• Provide adequate bathing facilities so students can take a daily bath or shower

School responsibilities

LanguageUK will:

• Handle invoicing and student payment for all accommodation costs
• Remunerate homestay hosts on a weekly basis direct to their bank accounts
• Give feedback from student’s evaluations regarding their homestay
• Provide details of student arrival times where students have booked an airport transfer
• Liaise (through our Accommodation Officer) between the student and homestay host when issues arise and will find alternative accommodation for the student where issues cannot be resolved
• Provide an emergency phone number so that students and homestay hosts can speak to LanguageUK staff outside office hours and aid where necessary

How we place students

• For LanguageUK it is essential that hosting students is a positive experience for both our students and homestay hosts. When students apply for homestay accommodation, they are asked to fill out their requirements and preferences. The accommodation officer will then find the best homestay match. Whatever the request, whether it is a special dietary need, a wish to stay in a family with young children or a home with no pets.
• Similarly, our homestay hosts can also express their preferences. Some hosts prefer to have older students, or maybe are only able to offer B & B or self-catering. The school’s accommodation officer uses their knowledge of homestay providers to place the students in the most appropriate accommodation.
• Once LanguageUK receives a student’s registration form, the student will usually be placed with a homestay host no later than two weeks before the student’s arrival date. Hosts are provided with basic information about the student including their age and nationality and students are sent a profile of the homestay host they will be staying with.
• At busy times and with late bookings, homestay hosts may be contacted at very short notice.

Homestay Terms

Download our Homestay Terms & Conditions

The Application Process

If you would like to apply to become a homestay provider, please complete our online application or phone 01227455556 during office hours.

•  You will need to complete and return our application form and all relevant paperwork.
• We will follow up applications with a visit to your home to introduce ourselves. This will also be an opportunity for us to answer any questions that you may have about the homestay experience.
• We will also check that your home meets the standards for hosting an international student. Including a current Gas safety Certificate.
• LanguageUK is committed to safeguarding the health and well-being of all its students and will conduct relevant checks such as DBS checks for all household members over the age of 16.
• We will support you by providing training which you are required to take part in before hosting.

Please read our Safeguarding Policy for under 18s before making an application