“In light of the recent
English UK report highlighting student accommodation shortages in the ELT sector, I wanted to share
Hosts International’s more optimistic view of the situation. Although we didn’t directly contribute to the report’s findings, as probably UK’s largest homestay provider for over 30 language schools across the UK and Ireland, we believe our perspective provides valuable insight into the current state of homestay accommodation." This is what Hosts International Operations Director,
Harsha Shivdasani Brown had to say about English UK's ELT Accommodation Shortage Report.
Thriving homestay placements
"In the report, 95% of respondents stated that homestays are still the most popular option for student accommodation. This is something Hosts International can confirm, having already placed thousands of students in homestay accommodation this summer so far. However, contrary to the report’s findings, we’ve experienced a surge in homestay placements overall, with numbers in recent years surpassing those pre-pandemic," she added.
Analysing the reported shortages
"While we acknowledge the challenges mentioned in the report, we believe it’s crucial to delve deeper into the root causes of these perceived shortages. Factors such as geographical location of where shortages occur, cost of living crisis, pricing and competition but mainly changing student profiles, gender breakdown, student nationality breakdown and length of stay may all contribute to the difficulties some schools are facing in finding suitable accommodation for their international students," said the Operations Director.
Call for collaboration
"At Hosts International, we’ve invested significantly in recruiting and resourcing high-quality homestay options for our partners. Our experience has largely been positive, with only a few challenging marketplaces, and we believe that what some perceive as shortages are actually challenges that can be overcome through industry cooperation. Therefore, we urge our schools, agents and partners to collaborate with us in finding solutions and to engage in meaningful conversations about the report’s findings," she stated.
"As a British Council registered provider for homestays in over 10 locations across the UK,
Hosts International remains committed to providing top-quality accommodation experiences for students. I’d like to invite our industry partners to reach out to me personally by email or phone to organise a one-to-one meeting where we can work together to ensure a positive and accessible homestay experience for international students,” she concluded.
