About Us
Offering quality homestay and house share accommodation for students, interns, and professionals, ensuring a welcoming environment in the UK and Ireland.
Hosts International was established in 1988 with its main function being then, as it still is today, to provide quality homestays across the UK and Ireland for international students and those looking for student house share in London. Our singular aim is to ensure that every student is placed in a welcoming family environment, which we strongly believe leads to an accelerated acquisition of English and a generally happier stay.
We achieve this by demanding the highest standard of accommodation and selecting only the best families, through a rigorous vetting procedure. This is acknowledged by the British Council and English UK, both of whom fully recommend our service to their accredited language schools and colleges.
Our mission
We are committed to the highest standards of student care and support with our accommodation team taking great care to match students with compatible host family accommodation. This is achieved by consulting on specific needs such as desired location, length of stay, dietary considerations and religious beliefs.
To enable us to keep pace with an increasingly discerning client base, we are always keen to hear from new prospective host families. If you are considering joining our register of families, please take a moment to fill in our ‘Become a Host Family’ form.
Whether you are a prospective visiting student, a language school looking for assistance or a potential host family, we very much look forward to hearing from you. Please contact us on info@hosts-international.com
Our services
Hosts International operates in 20 cities across the UK & Ireland, working in partnerships with many leading institutions. We offer our students a wide range of services and cater for homestay and house share (host family) accommodation for all ages, both for juniors and adults. They travel as individuals or groups and 90% of our clientele are international students seeking the British family experience. We also cater to interns and professionals with our homestay and house share accommodation. In addition, we offer students transfers and travel cards if they choose to book.
Our offices and some of the team
Our booking rates are varying per booking and are based on whether the booking is an individual adult, junior group, facility, location, meal plan, room and sharing preferences. All our rates are pro-rata so you are paid for all the nights the student stays with you. You will be also provided with the exact price for each booking at the time of us confirming each booking. Hosts International pays all hosts regularly so you will have a security of regular payments for your students.
Please bring your personal belogings including clothes, toiletries and anything you need for your stay. The homestay guarantees to provide you with a private bedroom with an adequately sized bed, storage space for your clothes and other belongings, a table or desk for studying (either in your bedroom or in the main part of the house/apartment), laundry access once a week, a weekly change of towels and bed linens, daily access to a bathroom and use of the hosts home.
It is not a requirement for the students to bring a gift to their hosts, so this depends on you if you decide to bring a small gift from your country for your host or not.
Our hosts can offer you accommodation on Self-Catering (no meals offered, but full access to the kitchen provided), Bed and Breakfast (continental style breakfast only, you may use kitchen for light meals preparations with use of kettle or microwave), Half Board (continental style breakfast and evening meal) and Full Board (continental style breakfast, packed lunch and evening meal) basis. Evening meals are usually eaten with the host unless otherwise arranged.
If you choose one meal option initially, but decide to switch to another option, please contact us and we can arrange this for you.
We confirm that special diets such as vegetarian, halal and other requirements can be catered for. There is a small daily supplement for vegan, gluten free, lactose free and halal diets to reflect the extra food that the host will have to provide. Please tell us if you have a special requirement when you request your accommodation so we can ensure that your homestay is informed accordingly.
We note that in general zone 1 is a commercial area mainly with offices, hotels, shops, etc. We do have a couple of homestays in zone 1. Alternatively, we can offer you also our homestays in zone 2 with direct access to London city centre. We confirm that many of our host families can offer you with private bathroom. Please mention your request at the time of booking, so we can ensure that we find a suitable homestay with a private bathroom.
Some of our homestay accept students who smoke, it is however not allowed to smoke inside of any homestay. Each host will advise you of the most suitable place to smoke – usually in the garden/terrace etc.
All students who are 18 years old and above will be provided with a key to the homestay. In case you lose your key, please inform your host accordingly and discuss the next step with them.
Our offices are open from Monday to Friday from 8.30 am until 6.00 pm. After these hours and in case of any emergency, you may call our emergency number:\
- Homestay and Airport transfer emergencies – +44 (0) 7799 693566
- House share emergencies – +44 (0) 7747 459421
You will need to provide a spare bedroom for students with adequate storage, study facilities, and internet connection. You also must be willing to welcome international students at your home and provide them with meals as required, as well as a friendly and welcoming, interactive environment. There is also legal compliance, like suitability checks, that we may require before allocating any students with you. Our support team will assist you with this process.
This will depend on the student’s stay. Many students come only for short stays – usually from 3 days up to 4 weeks. The longer-term students stay with homestays over 4 weeks, sometimes the whole school semester or the entire year. It is will be your decision whether you will prefer a short stay or long-term students or a mixture of both.
Once you register with us and go through the registration process, we will activate your profile in our system and will be contacting you with potential bookings for your area. We will always provide you with all the information about the booking and it will be then up to your availability and preference if you accept it.. We aim to provide our homestays with bookings throughout the whole year.
Please inform us about any allergies or special requests at the time of making the booking so we can ensure that we find the most suitable homestay for you.
We pay our hosts regularly on a weekly basis by bank transfer or cheque. This means that you don’t have to worry about students paying or any financial arrangements with the students.
Our offices are open from Monday to Friday from 8.30 am until 6.00 pm. After these hours and in case of any emergency, you can call our emergency number +44 (0) 7799 693566.
Yes, having a pet is fine and many of our current hosts have pets. We will make a note on your profile that you have a pet to ensure that all the students interested in your accommodation are aware before they arrive to your home.
Lodgers are usually more independent. We ask our hometays to make sure that they communicate with their students on regular basis as this is the main reason why students chose homestay accommpodation. This enables them to experience living in local family and, in many cases, also to improve their English.
We work with many schools,colleges and universities and therefore can give you students year round especially in the summer busy period, to suit your avaibility. This gives you the flexibility to host year round or as you wish.
Yes, Hosts International operate a 24/7 out of hours emergency contact +44 (0) 7799693566 number, you may contact if you need assistance.
Yes, Hosts International operate a 24/7 out of hours emergency contact +44 (0) 7799693566 number, you may contact if you need assistance.
Homestay hosts across the UK welcome international students into their homes, whether that’s for short stays or year-round courses. However, what many don’t know is that they might not have the correct level of protection with a standard household policy, or could be unintentionally invalidating their home insurance by having additional guests stay at the property.
When you have ‘lodgers’ staying at your home, most insurers will place extra exclusions on your policy, for example, removing cover for theft without forced entry. This can cause unnecessary worry for hosts welcoming international students and wanting to make them feel at home.
Hosts International works in partnership with Endsleigh Insurance Services. Endsleigh provides a policy specifically designed to cover your home when you host international students.
Endsleigh can offer a competitive policy that will cover you for the following:
- Buildings and contents
- Specified items
- £2 million public liability
- Full cover for theft
- Extension of contents cover to the student
To get a quote or find out more, please call 0333 234 1507 or email nonstandard@endsleigh.co.uk and reference Hosts International.
Find out more at www.endsleigh.co.uk
Our offices are open from Monday to Friday from 8.30 am until 6.00 pm. After these hours and in case of any emergency, you may call our houseshare emergency number – +44 (0) 7747459421
LinkedIn ProfileHouse share is independent accommodation, where you ‘rent’ a bedroom from us and share the house and facilities with other international students or interns. Each house can accommodate between 5-7 people and offers a shared lounge or dining room with a television, 1-2 bathrooms, a fully equipped kitchen and most houses have a garden with a patio. We offer single rooms or shared rooms with or without an ensuite bathroom.
We offer a selection of quality house share accommodation in London, located in Canada Water, Surrey Quays, Bermondsey and Rotherhithe. Each house is situated in zone 2 of the public transport network, and is within easy reach of central London, with the average journey time of 30 minutes.
You can browse our houseshare accommodation on our booking page. Once you choose the one you prefer, you can contact us and we will check the availability for you accordingly.
Our house shares are available to any students/interns over the age of 18 only.
We note that the minimum stay in our house shares is 2 weeks and a maximum of 52 weeks. You can renew with us in advance on a periodic/instalment basis if you wish. No block booking needed!
There may be many different transportation options but you can pre-book a taxi service with us to the property for your arrival or departure. For more information contact info@hosts-international.com
You can move in any time from 8 am to 9 pm but you must call 07825 560304 and inform us of your arrival time at the house as we shall arrange for you to be met by our representative with a key. If you arrive too early, you may have to wait in the lounge area until your room is cleaned and ready for you. If you are going to be arriving much later in the day, say after 9 pm, just let us know and we will inform you of the arrangements from where you have to collect your keys and we will help you arrange local transport if you require this at a small cost.
Yes, if you wish to have family/friends stay with you, you should inform us in advance, so that we can check the availability and advise you regarding payment for overtime visitors accordingly.
Peter is a British businessman who has spent the last forty years developing his own business management skills. In the past twenty years, he has focussed on working with people from across the world who are involved in the Education and Hospitality industry and sharing his love for business, sales, marketing and students.
Peter has worked in Europe, the Far East, the Middle East, Russia, North America and Africa. He has also worked with small businesses in Vietnam on behalf of the British Government.
For close to forty years he has applied his skills working with leading persons in industry achieving objectives far beyond one can imagine. His love for business and his desire to share his experiences are the basis of the group’s range of products. His main role as Director of Hosts International is to support and encourage our network of partners to grow and find innovative ways to approach accommodation and the international student’s needs.
He is an unusual entrepreneur, enjoying statistics but often looking beyond profit margin for satisfaction on what he does and how he runs his business. He likes partnerships that stem from mutual respect and ideally wishes to treat partners as friends. He has applied his sales and statistical analysis skills in helping the business achieve its objectives, often simplifying complex policies and processes to be hands on and approachable to all levels.
For someone who started out as a humble Northerner, he has come more than a long way – chalking up more milestones than he himself can remember. He continues to enjoy the work he does and enjoys the company of the people he works with. He takes a special interest in the next generation, making time for them despite his hectic work schedule. He sees in them as the future, gives importance to their training and mentors them to become leading managers within the industry.
Peter’s interests include classic cars and motorcycles, stamp collecting, flying light aircraft and all things Northern and beautiful! Peter intends to work and never retire! To speak to him, contact peterbrown@hosts-international.com
Yes, please contact our offices on 020 7734 4884. You may have to change rooms or houses depending on pre-allocated availability. Please give us as much notice as possible. It is not possible to extend your stay at weekends. You can also email info@hosts-international.com
All our properties are non-smoking throughout. Smoking is only permitted in designated areas usually in the garden. There are usually designated outside areas for you to smoke with smoking pots provided
Homestays are a popular choice for international students coming to study or work in UK and Ireland. They offer the benefit of a homestay atmosphere, the chance to practice your English, and a chance to hat experience a different way of life. You won’t just be renting the room; you will be treated like a member of the household. You will have full access to the home, and there will be a laundry service available. Our homestay hosts vary from a single host mother, a retired couple, a family with pets and children, to a professional couple who offer independent accommodation with self-catering facilities. We also live in a melting pot of cultures, backgrounds and religious faiths and our homestays depict the diverse society we live in.
The minimum stay is 3 nights, but in case that you wish to stay less, please do not hesitate to contact us as we always promise to do our best to help. There is no maximum length you are welcome to book stay as long as you wish. We also offer you the option of booking on a month on month basis.
Once you send us your booking request, we will send you appropriate quote and a homestay profile which should meet your requests. We ask for the payment to be made as acceptance of this office and confirmation of your place. Once we receive your payment, we will be able to send you the Booking Confirmation with the address and contact details of your homestay. Due to the security reason we do not share any contacts or whole address prior to receiving the payment from students. For long term students we confirm that you can pay the first part of your stay (ideally two weeks or month fee) and then pay in agreed instalments.
No, you do not. We can also accommodate interns who are attending an internship in the UK and Ireland as well as professionals, just specify this at time of booking.
Unless you request to book a room with your friend/relative you will have your own room. We do not allow our students to share rooms with strangers. You may book a twin room if you wish to share with a friend or family member of similar age/gender. In the houseshare you can book a shared room if you prefer this option.
The minimum age of students coming without any adult accompanying is 13 years old. Younger students can still be accommodated as long as there is an adult coming with them and have appropriate consents in place. There is no such thing as maximum age – all ages are welcome 😊
We are more than happy to assist you with booking an airport transfer if requested. We use modern, comfortable, clean and fully insured vehicles with competent drivers who are sensitive to the welfare needs of overseas students.
If you decide to travel to your homestay by public transfer, we will be happy to help with navigations if necessary.
Vision and Value
Our Vision for Homestay
Our core team values are: reliability, responsiveness, availability and approachability. We are a solutions-based organisation, with a friendly team who will go the extra mile to deliver for the needs of our customers.
Our Homestay Business
We place students with Homestays as our core business using a informed, balanced approach, treating each host and student as individuals. We use our large reach, our deep experience and extensive resources to solve problems. We do not rely on our expertise only, but communicate regularly with our customers, hosts and partners to improve our service and grow our offering. Our successful business growth is due to the ability to expand and adapt to.
Our Homestay Challenge
Our customers’ biggest challenge is expectation: not understanding the multi-cultural makeup of our hosts, the size and transport networks of the cities and the layout of a typical British or Irish home. We strive to manage expectations by giving our customers accurate information and by educating our partners.
Our Homestay Mission
We want to be the best accommodation provider in the UK, offering a wide choice of options in a safe environment for our customers. We take care of the accommodation needs of our partners so they can concentrate on their businesses.
Recommendation from a client
Thank you so much to all the team at Host International for the great service you provide to our students. You guys rock!
From everyone her at x School of English.
Client: M S London ELT school
