What happens on the Inspection Visit?
An HFS London Inspections Officer will meet with you at your home and it is imperative that you allow up to 60 minutes for the visit.
The aim of the visit is to understand your motivations for applying to be a Host Family, as well as to inspect the accommodation to ensure that it meets all the requirements of the educational institutions that we work with.
Key factors that we look at to establish suitability include but are not limited to:
- Motivations for applying to register to host international students
- The standard of the accommodation (including the guest bedroom)
- The area surrounding the home (amenities, transport, safety)
- The number of people in the home versus the size of the accommodation
- Current requirements of clients that we work with
The visit is also an opportunity for you to ask questions and establish definitively whether Homestay is right for you. In order to do this, our Inspections Officer will run through important information such as expectations of Host Families, booking procedures, different boards and meal plans, setting Ground Rules, Homestay categorisation, payment rates and procedures, procedures for extensions. The Inspections Officer will need to take photos of all of the communal areas of the home e.g. student room(s), living room, kitchen, bathroom etc.
A key part of the service that our Placements Team provide to our school clients is the matching of their students to our Host Families. As many of the Placements Team will not see your home, the photos are an extra aid for them when pairing student to Host Family.
HFS London will never publish photos of your home on any website without your advance permission. Nor will we provide any of your personal information to third parties not related to the Homestay booking process