What is a home stay?
Home stays and family guesthouses are at the heart of People to People programs.
They allow students to get to know a culture while living as members of a
family, rather than from a tourist’s perspective. On most of our junior and
senior high school programs, students stay with local families and experience
the way they live, work, and play.
We do not guarantee that students will be paired during home stay visits. Many
of our host families have room to host only one delegate.
What is the guesthouse stay?
The European guesthouse experience is unique; typically the entire delegation
joins other students of approximately the same age from one or more countries.
The days are filled with opportunities to make international friends, talk about
their cultures, and enjoy adventure activities together.
The Irish guesthouses host two to four students at a time. These large houses
are similar to bed and breakfasts, and the families who own them always give a
warm welcome.
How are the host families selected?
Overseas home stay coordinators, many of whom are headmasters of local schools,
select host families from their local areas based on a set of guidelines. The
host families are generally members of a club, school, or a community who know
one another. The areas are selected due to size, location, and the number of
families willing to have a student stay with them.
What are the standards for home stay situations?
The home stay coordinator and the families sign Success Contracts agreeing to
abide by the People to People standards for host families. The main requirement
for host families is to provide a safe, clean, welcoming environment. The home
stay coordinator implements our guidelines and high standards for our host
families. We do not discriminate against families due to financial means,
religion, or ethnicity. We search out families who are diverse in culture and
economic background. We do not require our host families to speak English, as
part of the cultural exchange is learning to overcome the language barrier.
Are background checks performed on the families prior to a student’s arrival?
Background checks are not a normal practice overseas, and in fact, are illegal
in most countries. To ensure a safe and welcoming environment for our Student
Ambassadors, we enlist the assistance of local home stay coordinators who work
closely with the potential host families, communicating our standards and
evaluating the home environment and members of a potential host family.
Why are the host families paid to host the students?
The only monetary compensation received by the families is a minimal amount for
food and incidental expenses. The amount is not such that a family would find it
an incentive to host a student. Many families actually prefer us to make a
donation to the local school or club that is sponsoring our students in the
area.
What activities will host families engage students in?
The home stay experience is one of the most unique experiences offered by our
program and has been a highlight for many students. Host families provide
students the experience of everyday life in their culture. It is not their
obligation to entertain the students, but to allow them to feel comfortable at
home and participate in the day-to-day normal activities of the family. The
expectation for the home stay is to immerse students in the culture and for the
students to witness the way the family lives, works, and plays.
Can you ensure the student will be placed in a non-smoking home? How
do you work with allergies and these types of requests when placing them?
We can request, but cannot guarantee, a non-smoking home. Allergies and other
medical needs should be filled out completely prior to departure on a student’s
Health Form. Our coordinators send this information to the home stay
coordinators so they have the information on file when making home stay
placements.
Why is there no pre-visit communication between host families and students?
Due to last-minute circumstances and organization of the host family list, it is
not always possible to know beforehand with which family your child will be
matched.
Will families receive contact information for students' home stay homes?
Once the students are assigned to their host families upon arrival to the area,
the leader will retain all accurate contact information for the students. The
student may be able to call home to provide contact information; however,
parents should keep time differences in mind when calling, and students should
only use the family’s phone in conjunction with their own prepaid calling card
when making expensive international calls.
Can students request to be paired with another student from their delegation
during the home stay?
For hotels, the leaders prepare the rooming lists. For home stays, a request can
be made to have a paired home stay, but it cannot be guaranteed. Many host
families open their homes to two or even three students at a time; however,
other host families may only have space enough to accept one student.
Will my child be placed in a home with other children the same age?
Over 20,000 students participate in our programs every summer and it is not
always possible to match our students to similarly aged host children. Most of
the time, our students will be placed in a home with a host family and their
children, though not necessarily of the same age. Occasionally, in areas where
host families are not as abundant, some students will be placed in a home
without other children or with single-parent families. The emphasis is on the
experience, not the age.
Are home-stay gifts required?
While a home stay gift is certainly not a requirement, it is encouraged as a
thoughtful gesture of thanks. Many students choose to bring a small gift to
express appreciation to the host family. An appropriate gift can be anything
small and easy to pack, something representative of the student’s home state or
town such as a pen, magnet, or book, or something homemade representing a
skilled craft the student may know.