Homestay.com Partner FAQs

What is Homestay.com & how does it work?

Homestay.com is a global accommodation booking website for people seeking a real and genuine travel experience. It allows someone to book a room in another person’s home.

What makes a homestay so unique is the people. Each homestay has a host there to welcome guests into their home and offer guidance and assistance during the stay. At the core of the homestay experience is a host being present to welcome the guest into their home. Our guests will meet the people from the community they’re visiting and enjoy a genuinely local experience.

• Bookings on Homestay.com can be made after sending a message to the host to check their availability for specific dates, and once the host confirms that they are available.
• A host lives in every homestay listed on Homestay.com – none of our homestays are vacant properties.
  

When a guest books a homestay, they get the chance to live like a local and experience what life is really like in that place. They can immerse themselves in the local customs and traditions, practice speaking a foreign language and spend time with the people that really make the place what it is. With their host’s local knowledge they’ll see beyond the usual tourist trail.

A homestay is an affordable accommodation alternative. It is ideal for the independent leisure traveller or tourist who wants to experience the local community and culture of the place they’re visiting, people who are on a short city break and want affordable accommodation, and others who are travelling to an event (eg. London Marathon or conference, concerts, etc.). Our hosts all have their own unique interests and hobbies and guest often find a host with similar interests which further complements the homestay experience.

Who are our guests?

Homestays are popular among independent adult leisure travellers, gap year travellers, university students, interns, volunteers and language students and our bookings so far support this. Homestays are a relatively new but growing concept for the independent leisure traveller and are ideal for tourists who want to experience the local community and culture of the place they’re visiting, people who are on a short city break and want affordable accommodation, and others who are travelling to an event (eg. London Marathon or conference, concerts, etc.). For leisure travelers, it opens up a world of local travel experiences, where they get to meet the people in the place they’re visiting. All our homestays have a host present.

Who are our hosts?

Hosts are what make a homestay experience so unique. They welcome guests into their home and offer guidance and help during their stay. With a host’s local knowledge, guests see beyond the usual tourist trail. Hosts can also help their guests find their feet in a new place, whether it’s help with local orientation or places to eat.

Some of our hosts are connected to a Local Partner. The Local Partner will have visited and verified the homestay and provide ongoing support to these hosts.
Other homestays are listed directly on Homestay.com with no Local Partner connection.

Our hosts come from all walks of life. They include young and old, singles, couples and families with children, rural and urban, male and female. We welcome people from all over the world to sign up as a host.

Our hosts all have their own unique interests and hobbies and guests often find a host with similar interests which further complements the homestay experience. Homestay.com hosts will do what they can to make your homestay as enjoyable as possible and provide you with a local authentic experience beyond the usual tourist trail.

Who are our Local Partners?

Some but not all of our homestays are matched to Local Partners.

Homestay.com works with a number of independent local partners worldwide. Local Partners visit a host’s home to inspect and approve their homestay and give advice on how best to promote their homestay profile on Homestay.com. Once approved, the Local Partner continues to have a relationship with the host, giving them assurance of their support on the ground. They can help hosts with advice on how to create a profile, upload photos and set rates. They’re also there to help should guests need it when booking or arriving for their stay.

We choose our local partners carefully. They all have experience in dealing with leisure travellers, many of them have experience working with host families. Our partners include homestay providers, student accommodation providers, language schools, internship companies, study abroad companies and travel companies pursuing a new business opportunity.

Some of our Local Partners also have additional and separate demand for hosts outside of Homestay.com. Becoming a host on Homestay.com may give you an additional opportunity to connect with a Local Partner and avail of additional bookings. If this additional opportunity is available in your area, Homestay.com may connect you with a Local Partner but you will be required to meet the standards of approval as required by the individual Local Partner including but not limited to a homestay inspection.

Why should you become a Local Partner?

If you have access to an existing network of homestays, we invite you to contact us to discuss partnership opportunities.

Through the provision of free technology to our Local Partners and the Homestay.com site, we offer the opportunity to Local Partners for scale, year-round business, increased revenue and through working together benchmark the ‘homestay industry’ worldwide.

We can promote your brand globally and add efficiency to your core business.

Our partners include homestay providers, student accommodation providers, language schools, internship companies, study abroad companies and travel companies pursuing a new business opportunity.

We are actively seeking new Local Partners throughout the world. If you are interested in becoming a Local Partner, we’d love to hear from you!