About Us New 2025-01-22T11:35:46+00:00

About Us

Hosts International was established in 1988 with its main function being then, as it still is today, to provide quality host families for international students visiting the UK and Dublin 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.

Find Accommodation

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 (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 house share accommodation. In addition, we offer students transfers and travel cards if they choose to book.

International students studying

Our offices

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 (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 house share accommodation. In addition, we offer students transfers and travel cards if they choose to book.

FAQ

How do I get a booking? 2020-01-08T13:19:56+00:00

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.

What must I provide to become a homestay? 2020-01-08T13:16:37+00:00

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.

How long should I expect to host a student for? 2020-01-08T13:19:32+00:00

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.

What rate are homestays paid for hosting international students? 2020-01-08T13:20:43+00:00

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.

What do I do in an emergency? 2020-01-08T13:21:39+00:00

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.

How am I paid? / Who pays me? 2020-01-08T13:21:09+00:00

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.

I have a dog / cat, is this ok? 2020-01-08T13:22:09+00:00

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.

Is having a student the same as having a lodger? 2020-01-08T13:23:04+00:00

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.

Will I get students regularly? 2020-01-08T13:23:24+00:00

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.

What’s included in Endsleigh’s insurance? 2021-04-30T15:02:09+00:00

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

Do I need specialist insurance? 2021-04-30T14:59:40+00:00

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.

Our Team

Vision and Value

Our Vision

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 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 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 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

Hosts International and BC accreditations
Womens International awards winner