Who can be a host?

All sorts of people are welcoming international students through HOST. The most important thing is that you have a heart for hospitality, an interest in meeting people from other parts of the world, and that you take pleasure in sharing your local area and community with visitors.

The majority of international students are aged 19-30, so you also need to be comfortable with this age-group, although we do sometimes have older students.

You need to live in the UK, but you do not need to live near a university, as students are prepared to travel in order to enjoy the experience of meeting people and seeing the country.  We have hosts from the far north of Scotland to Cornwall and from East Anglia to Northern Ireland.

If you do live in, or near, a university city, you would be able to invite students for a one day visit if you prefer.

Most visits, however, are for a weekend (Friday to Sunday), or for 3 nights over Christmas. In this case, you need to have a spare bedroom for your guest.

Finally, you need to be happy to participate in HOST as a voluntary activity. Our hosts are unpaid, giving hospitality maybe once, maybe a few times each year, because they find it a worthwhile and interesting thing to do. HOST is a charity and can offer only a small amount towards hosts’ expenses after a visit has occurred.

Questions we are asked

Will the student speak English?

Yes. Some have English as their first language; some have been educated in English for a long time. All must have enough English to cope with higher education here. But some have had few opportunities to use English in a social context, and a HOST visit can really help with that.

Does anyone check up on the students?

EIL checks that all applicants are registered on full-time courses at UK institutions. This authorisation comes from a designated person in the university. This person does not necessarily know the student personally. Your HOST Regional Organiser, who will link the student with you, is in contact with the student and can ask any questions on your behalf before you agree to offer an invitation.

What about insurance?

We require all hosts to have home insurance. This is to ensure that they are covered for claims for injury to third parties. In practice, there has never been such a claim in the whole of HOST's 30-year history. Similarly, it is virtually unheard-of for items to be broken or to go missing from hosts' homes, but, on the chance that this may happen, HOST recommends all host are covered by their own contents insurance.

Will the student eat what I eat?  

Most students are very keen to enjoy ‘home-cooking’, and to discover ‘British traditional dishes’ – often they are very pleasantly surprised! We do ask them to tell us about any dietary needs and you will know these before you agree to invite a particular student. Usually any special needs are associated with religious or cultural restrictions, such as no pork or no beef. Some students require vegetarian meals. Some students offer to cook a dish from their country for their hosts.

I live alone – can I be a host?

Yes. Quite a lot of our hosts live alone and enjoy the company. Some people who host alone find it easier to have two guests at a time; or they involve local friends in one of their activities. Sometimes, single hosts who live in the same area each invite a student on the same weekend, and share activities that way. But having one-to-one attention from their host can be a real treat for a student.

Is there an upper age limit for hosts?

Not at all! We have hosts in their 80’s who are reasonably fit and active, and above all interested in people. Many students love spending time with ‘grandparent’ figures, because they have so much life experience to share, and perhaps more time to devote to their guests than younger families.

Am I going to be out of pocket doing this?

What distinguishes HOST from other schemes is that it is voluntary  - hospitality is offered from kindness and interest in welcoming people from other parts of the world. Hosts provide meals for their guest; run them to and from the local station; and usually take them on an outing. We advise students to have some cash with them so they can pay their entrance money if their hosts take them sight-seeing, and can offer to pay for their own food if you are eating lunch out. At Christmas, hosts like to give the guest a small present so they are not left out. After the visit, We offer a contribution of a maximum £10 per guest per night (max 2 nights at weekends, 3 nights at Christmas). Approximately half of our hosts do not claim this contribution.   So yes, you may be a little out of pocket – but we anticipate that, as with your other weekend activities, you will find this one worth a little expenditure!

How much notice will I have about a visit?

This does vary, but most visits are arranged between 3 and 6 weeks in advance, sometimes longer. If you like, you can set aside a weekend for a HOST visit, perhaps a long way ahead, and your Regional Organiser will find you a student for that weekend. Alternatively, if you prefer to do things at quite short notice, that will often be possible.

I’m prepared to try this once, but must I commit to more than that?

We do not ask for any commitment. Invitations are arranged one at a time. After your first guest, we will ask you if and when you might like to do this again. We hope you will want to stay on our list of hosts, whether you choose to host several times a year, or only one Christmas in three. We are never short of students hoping for an invitation!

What do our hosts say?

Barbara Hargreaves writing after receiving her first guest:

Amazing beyond belief! We bonded immediately, same humour and laughed non stop. Walked for hours and loved every minute.

The Tatham family’s first guest came for a weekend in the spring:

It was an amazing experience for our family. If you want to educate your children about life, internationalism, economics, politics and more, in an interesting and enjoyable way then you should become a Host. We loved having Duoduo to stay.

Sandra Cox, who has been hosting for several years, recently wrote:

You are really missing out on a great experience if you don't become a host. Students just want to see how we live day to day and a bit of the country outside tourist areas. It doesn't cost a lot of money or effort to have a guest and show them our ways and listen to how they live at home. And it is so rewarding.

What do our students say?