Homestay

Homestay is a form of tourism and/or study abroad program that allows the visitor to rent a room from a local family to better learn the local lifestyle as well as improve their language ability. While homestays can occur in any destination worldwide, some countries do more to encourage homestay than others as a means of developing their tourism industry. Hosting a homestay participant also allows the local family to earn some additional, needed income. Having low profitability, as it is, homestay can not be regarded as strictly commercial activity, but more of cross cultural exchange. Students generally arrange a homestay with their school or educational institution, but can also informally arrange to stay with a family through social connections, and through a variety of private agencies. There are a number of online homestay agencies that connect students with hosts all over the world (usually for a nominal fee).

Types of Homestays

Homestay scenarios can range from a completely immersive family experience, to a very basic room rental.

In the immersive family experience a homestay student lives, eats, and shares the majoritiy of their time in the host country with the hosts and their family. Family events such as dining out, amusement parks, camping, travel, etc. usually involve the host student who may or may not be expected to pay a portion for the participation (tickets, parking, gas, travel expenses, et al.) The student is invited to participate in Holiday festivities (Thanksgiving, Christmas, etc.) and family events (weddings, birthdays, etc.)

At the other end of the spectrum, students may simply be renting a room within a private home with minimal supervision from a host or family.

Additionally, there are a working homestay agreements where a student is expected to perform duties such as yard work, farm work, babysitting, maid services - usually in exchange for accomodation fees or as part of.

Typical Contracts & Agreements

A clash of cultures can sometimes result between a homestay student and the host family. To mitigate any issues, most homestay arrangements involve a contract or written agreement between the host and student. A contract will outline what is expected of the homestay student and may include items such as;

-Chores to perform (cleaning, laundering)
-Curfews
-Use of the internet, television
-Use of the telephone
-Guest visits
-Smoking/drinking rules

as well as the details of what is being provided by the host in terms of;

-Accomodations
-Furniture / facilities
-Meal provisions
-Transportation
-Communications (internet, telephone)
-Entertainment (tv, radio)

Generally, a host must provide a private room for sleep & study that has a lock and a washroom must be available that is convenient for the student to use. Most other items are negotiable in terms of availability and price.

Risks for the Host

Typically, hosting a homestay student is a rich and rewarding experience that allows the sharing of cultures, information, and experience. However, studying abroad is often the first time the homestay student is away from the parents and home country. This may result in adjustment issues for the student. The host must be able to deal with seperation issues, anxiety, and the like.

Scams on the internet are becoming fairly commonplace - when engaging in financial transactions that may require international payments, cheques, and money orders being sent there is always the possibility of making oneself vulnerable to scams and fraud. The host family is best to educate themselves on the issues, and protect themselves adequately through the use of a good contract.

A recent and common example of a scam perpetrated on host families plays as follows;

-Parents of a student email the host family to request a room - usually claiming to be from europe/asia.
-The host replies with availability and costs etc.
-The parent agrees to the fees, and offers to pay the fees up front.
-Usually some sort of family crisis arises, and the transaction must be handled with urgency.
-The parent sends payment with an overage, and aks the host to refund the excess payment.
-The host family refunds the payment.
-The intial payment (cheque, money order, etc.) bounces or is fraudulent.
-The host family has lost the money it has sent as a refund.

This scam can happen in any situation any time payment is required in the form of cheque/money order/cashiers cheque, etc. In-depth discussion on frauds of this type is beyond the scope of this article, but the host family is encouraged to exercise caution when dealing with overseas payments and transactions.

Risks for the Student

There are two basic motivations for a family to engage in the operation of a homestay;

1. The family is looking to assist students, inject culture, and better understand the world and it's people through a mutual exchange of traditions, knowledge and culture.

2. The family is looking to augment their income.

Usually, a family bears a healthy mix of these two reasons in opening their home to students and international visitors.

Ocassionaly, however, there are instances where a family, or individual, is looking only to capitalize on the financial opportunity and has little or no concern for the interests of the student.

A student is encouraged to look at the history of students and guests that the family has hosted, and to ask for a reference from a student who has recently attended their homestay. If a family refuses to give a reference, a student is advised to stay away. Also, look for a contract that not only protects the interests of the homestay host, but also the interests of the student. There should be a clear listing of the obligations of both the student and host family.