Become a Homestay Host

Why become a homestay host?

Our accommodation hosts are very important to us. They provide safe, comfortable accommodation for our students, to give them a relaxing place to return to after school.

Our students live with homestay hosts for any length of time, from two weeks to 9 months or more, and choose homestay accommodation to have the opportunity to practise their English and learn more about life in the UK.

Being a homestay provider can be incredibly rewarding. Meeting students from so many different cultures, learning about their countries, customs and family lives are just some of the reasons for it being such an enriching experience, not to mention making lifelong friends from hugely interesting destinations! Being able to share our culture with the students is also extremely valuable to them and this gives them a genuine understanding of how we live in the UK. Despite the obvious financial benefits to hosts, this is certainly not the focus of the relationship.

The majority of our year-round homestay hosts are situated within 30 minutes walking distance of ELC. However, occasionally - and especially during the summer months - this may be slightly increased.

Homestay Hosting Facts

  • Minimum age of our students: 16
  • Average age: 23
  • Minimum length of stay: 2 weeks
  • Average length of stay 10-12 weeks
  • We only offer full-time courses, so the students should be with us from 09:15 to 15:30 from Monday to Thursday and from 09:15 to 12:45 on Fridays.
  • ELC offers at least 2 activities (usually in the evening) during the week and a full-day excursion on Saturdays. Those activities are not mandatory but many of the students join in.

What's special about becoming a homestay host for ELC?

Being a homestay host for a language school is different to advertising a room privately because you do not meet the student before he/she arrives. However, the student already has a relationship with the school, which means that we have access to the student’s family/guardian or agent in the event of any problem arising. Once the student leaves the school, this association ends.

What do the students expect?

  • Their own room (unless 2 students have specifically requested to share).
  • Breakfast and an evening meal 7 days a week.
  • Shower every day.
  • One load of washing every week.
  • Bed linen and towels changed every week.

How does the student pay for their room?

The student pays their accommodation fee to the school and the school pays the host direct. You can expect to receive regular weekly payments for each week the student is with you.

What’s the school catchment area?

We advertise in our marketing materials that all our homestays live within walking distance of the school. If you are unsure if you live within our catchment area, please email andrew@elcbristol.co.uk with your postcode to confirm. In the summer and occasionally during the year, we might extend our catchment area, so feel free to check your address with us to see if it is possible to host for us.

How do I apply?

If you would like to host students from ELC, please complete our application form and send it back to us. You can email it to our accommodation team at andrew@elcbristol.co.uk . If you prefer to post it, please send it to:

ELC Bristol, 1 The Avenue, Bristol, BS8 3HG

More information

What happens next?

Once we have received your form, our Homestay Manager will contact you and arrange to visit you and view your home before we put you on our database. The visit will take approximately half an hour to 45 minutes.  If you and we are happy to proceed, we will then send you an agreement to sign and will get references.  And once the paperwork is done, we can start to send you some students.

Will I always have students in my room?

Not always.  If you tell us that you are planning a holiday, or the room will be in use by guests, you can ask us to make sure that we do not book students with you for those times.  And there are also quiet times of the year when we have fewer students; in those times students are usually placed with those hosts who offer the best rooms, get the best student feedback and/or who live closest to the school.

We cannot guarantee you will have a student at all times.

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