Homadorma
Homadorma is a Toronto-based online marketplace connecting international students with verified homestay hosts in Canada and the United States, monetizing through placement fees, host subscriptions, and add-on services.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2009
- HeadquartersToronto, Canada
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingDigital Commerce or Content
What Homadorma does
Homadorma is a Toronto-headquartered online marketplace, incorporated as Homadorma Inc., that connects international students with host families offering homestay accommodation in Canada and the United States. Founded around 2009 (with 2013 cited as an alternate founding year in some sources), the platform claims the largest homestay network in Canada and the US, listing 3,000+ verified homestays and serving 21,642 active students from 111 countries. Its core product is a web-based two-sided marketplace that lets students search by school or city, communicate with hosts, take virtual or in-person tours, and complete bookings supported by guaranteed contract signing, a 7-day trial week, and secure payment processing. The platform layers a multi-tier trust system (Homadorma Badges covering ID verification, criminal background checks via mybackcheck.com and Sterling Talent Solutions, property video verification, and custodian badges) onto the marketplace to differentiate on safety for international students and minor students requiring Canadian custodianship.
Homadorma monetizes through a transaction fee on each booking (CAD 375 per homestay placement plus a separate custodianship placement fee), tiered monthly host subscriptions (free Basic, CAD 19 Smart, CAD 29 Professional), an optional Stay Guarantee insurance product (CAD 240/360/540 for 3/6/12 months), and a Homestay Tour product (CAD 400, redeemable as credit toward booking). Distribution is channel-led: 30+ educational institutions (Toronto Metropolitan, Kwantlen Polytechnic, Humber, Emily Carr) and 100+ recruitment agencies (EIC Group, Uhouzz, Visa Mondial, SUN Education) refer students through the platform, augmented by self-serve direct web traffic and social channels including Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, Weibo, and WeChat. The company is privately held, has only 1-10 employees, and has raised a single disclosed round of approximately $77,126 in July 2017, indicating it has scaled to date largely through operating cash flow rather than external capital.
Homadorma firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Homadorma
- Legal name
- Homadorma Inc.
- Website
- https://homadorma.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2009
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Homadorma is a Toronto-based online marketplace connecting international students with verified homestay hosts in Canada and the United States, monetizing through placement fees, host subscriptions, and add-on services.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Homadorma industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Homestay Booking Marketplace
- NAICS
- Rooming and Boarding Houses, Dormitories, and Workers' Camps (72131), Other Travel Arrangement and Reservation Services (56159), Other Traveler Accommodation (72119)
- SIC
- Hotels, Rooming Houses, Camps & Other Lodging Places (7000)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Private Student Housing Marketplaces & Booking Platforms (Aggregators) (EDAIALAE)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Homestay Placement & Host Family Management (EDAIALAC), Student Housing Marketplaces & Booking Platforms (THAMAGAJ)
Keywords
Where Homadorma is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Toronto
- HQ country
- Canada
- HQ region
- North America
Markets served
Homadorma business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Digital Commerce or Content
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Personnel, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Homestay Placement Fee: One-time fee charged to students when booking is confirmed. Covers guaranteed contract signing, flexible booking, and secure payment processing.
- Host Listing Plans: Monthly subscription plans for hosts to list properties and access premium features. Basic tier is free; Smart (CAD 19/month) and Professional (CAD 29/month) tiers offer direct invite capabilities and featured placement.
- Stay Guarantee: Optional insurance product purchased by students for ongoing protection. 3-month plan CAD 240, 6-month plan CAD 360, 12-month plan CAD 540. Covers free homestay replacement and security deposit holding.
- Homestay Tour Fee: CAD 400 fee for unlimited homestay tours within 90 days. Applied as credit toward booking when student completes experience surveys.
- Custodianship Placement Fee: Service fee for matching minor students with Canadian custodians. Covers 4-month custodian replacement period.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Homestay Placement - One-time fee for students |
| Subscription | Multi-year contract | Stay Guarantee 3 Months |
| Subscription | Multi-year contract | Stay Guarantee 6 Months |
| Subscription | Multi-year contract | Stay Guarantee 12 Months |
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Homestay Tour |
| Freemium | Monthly | Basic Listing Plan - Free tier for hosts |
| Subscription | Monthly | Smart Listing Plan - Mid-tier subscription |
| Subscription | Monthly | Professional Listing Plan - Premium tier |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels10 records
Homadorma product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Homadorma operates an online marketplace that connects international students seeking short- and long-term homestay accommodation with verified host families in Canada and the United States. The platform supports host family listing, profile-based matching, secure booking, payment processing, and ancillary services such as placement, in-person tours, custodianship matching, and a "Stay Guarantee" protection subscription.
Product overview
Homadorma operates as a platform marketplace offering a unified homestay booking and management ecosystem for international students seeking accommodation in Canada and the United States. The core Homestay Placement Platform enables students to search for homestays near their schools, communicate with hosts, and complete bookings with legal contract signing. Additional services include the Stay Guarantee (insurance product for homestay replacement), Homestay Tour (in-person/virtual viewing), and Custodianship Service (for minor students). Hosts can purchase Listing Plans (Basic, Smart, or Professional tiers) to gain visibility and direct invitation capabilities. An Agency Account feature allows education partners to manage multiple student bookings. The Homadorma Badges system provides verification layers including ID, property, background check, and custodian badges to establish trust across the platform.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Homestay Placement Platform Two-sided online marketplace where host families list homestay accommodations and international students search, compare, and request stays in Canada and the United States.
- Homestay Placement Service Booking and contract-secured placement of an international student with a selected host family; the platform guarantees the homestay contract once the placement fee is paid.
- Stay Guarantee Subscription-based protection plan covering students during their homestay, available in 3-month, 6-month, and 12-month durations.
- Homestay Tour Pre-booking viewing service allowing prospective students to inspect host family accommodations either in person or via video calls before committing.
- Custodianship Service Matching service that pairs students under 18 with custodian families in compliance with Canadian visa requirements for minors studying without a parent.
- Host Listing Plans Subscription offering for host families to publish homestay profiles on the platform, available across free and paid tiers with varying visibility and feature levels.
- Agency Account Dedicated dashboard account for education institutions and student recruitment agencies to place and manage homestay bookings on behalf of their students.
Companies that use Homadorma
Customer profileNamed customers8 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Homadorma technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration13 records
Feature7 records
Homadorma partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Toronto Metropolitan UniversitycorePartner institution officially recommending Homadorma to international students. Students can search homestays by school and access verified host listings near campus.
- Kwantlen Polytechnic UniversitycorePartner institution officially recommending Homadorma to international students for homestay placement services.
- Humber CollegecorePartner institution officially recommending Homadorma to international students for homestay accommodation.
- Emily Carr UniversitycorePartner institution officially recommending Homadorma to international students for homestay placement services.
- EIC GroupcoreEducation agency partner referring international students to Homadorma for homestay booking services.
- UhouzzcoreEducation agency partner referring international students to Homadorma for homestay accommodation services.
- Visa MondialminorPartner agency for international student services including homestay referrals.
- SUN Education GroupcoreEducation agency partner referring international students to Homadorma for homestay placement.
Scale indicators5 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Homadorma competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Amberstudent: Leading global student housing marketplace offering verified listings near universities. Directly comparable on target customer (international students) and marketplace model, though focused on purpose-built student accommodation rather than homestays.
- Homestay.com: Global homestay booking marketplace connecting travelers and students with host families. Most direct competitor to Homadorma — same product (homestay placement), same target (international students and language learners), and similar verification/trust approach.
- Nestpick: Furnished apartment marketplace targeting international students and relocating professionals. Comparable on student segment and verified-listing marketplace model, with adjacent rather than overlapping inventory.
- Student.com: Global student accommodation marketplace aggregating listings near major universities. Comparable marketplace model and international student target customer, though broader in inventory type than homestay-focused Homadorma.
- University Living: Student housing marketplace serving international students globally with verified accommodations near universities. Comparable on customer segment, school-proximity search, and trust/verification positioning.
- Casita: Student housing platform serving the UK and Ireland with verified rooms near universities. Comparable marketplace model and international student target, operating in a different geography than Homadorma.
- Housing Anywhere: Student housing marketplace operating across Europe and beyond, connecting students with verified rooms and apartments. Comparable two-sided platform serving international students, though emphasizing longer-term rentals over homestay.
- StudentStay: Homestay-focused booking platform targeting international students in multiple geographies. Closely comparable product — homestay placement with verified hosts and school-proximity search — competing in the same niche.
Broad incumbents
- Airbnb: Global short-term rental marketplace with massive host inventory and brand reach. Indirect overlap with Homadorma as international students sometimes use Airbnb for stays, but Airbnb does not specialize in homestays or school-proximity matching.
- Booking.com: World's largest accommodation marketplace. Tangentially comparable on accommodation booking infrastructure, but its inventory skews hotels and serviced apartments rather than student homestays.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Homadorma social profiles
Digital presenceHomadorma financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Homadorma leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Homadorma funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds1 record
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Homadorma M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Homadorma
What does Homadorma do?
Homadorma operates an online marketplace that connects international students seeking short- and long-term homestay accommodation with verified host families in Canada and the United States. The platform supports host family listing, profile-based matching, secure booking, payment processing, and ancillary services such as placement, in-person tours, custodianship matching, and a "Stay Guarantee" protection subscription.
Is Homadorma a public or private company?
Homadorma is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Homadorma founded?
Homadorma was founded in 2009. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Homadorma based?
Homadorma is headquartered in Toronto, Canada, in the North America region.
How does Homadorma make money?
Five revenue lines are on record. Homestay Placement Fee is the primary driver. The others are host Listing Plans, stay Guarantee, homestay Tour Fee and custodianship Placement Fee.
Who are Homadorma's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Amberstudent, Homestay.com, Nestpick, Student.com, University Living, Casita, Housing Anywhere and StudentStay. Broad incumbents are Airbnb and Booking.com.
Does Homadorma have an API?
No public API is recorded for Homadorma.
What industry is Homadorma in?
Homadorma's product category is Homestay Booking Marketplace. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EDAIALAE, Private Student Housing Marketplaces & Booking Platforms (Aggregators), with a secondary code of EDAIALAC, Homestay Placement & Host Family Management. Its NAICS code is 72131 and its SIC code is 7000.