Hosts International

What Hosts International does

Hosts International Ltd is a UK private limited company founded in 1988 that operates as a homestay accommodation agency, matching international students, interns, apprentices, and professionals with vetted host families across 20 cities in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Its primary customer segments are English language schools (notably British Council-accredited providers and English UK member institutions), education agents and guardians, universities and higher education providers, apprenticeship and training organisations, and individual students and parents — including under-18s requiring safeguarding. The company maintains a curated network of more than 10,000 vetted host families who are inspected and trained against British Council standards, and extends its service portfolio with airport transfers, guardianship for minors, group accommodation bookings, independent-living placements, and a Virtual Chat pre-arrival cultural exchange programme.

The underlying operation is a coordination and compliance platform rather than a software product: personalised matching is performed by human accommodation coordinators against student criteria such as dietary needs, proximity to school or work, and cultural preferences, supported by a host portal at portal.hosts-international.com and direct booking channels. The technology surface is intentionally lean; no APIs, SDKs, or mobile applications are disclosed, and the company relies on British Council registration and English UK corporate membership as primary credibility levers rather than proprietary technology. Hosts are paid on a weekly basis (up to £500/week tax-free under the HMRC Rent-a-Room Scheme), and Hosts International earns a placement fee/commission per matched booking, supplemented by ancillary transfer and guardianship service revenue.

Commercially, the company runs a hybrid B2B/B2C model: B2B partnerships with language schools, universities, FE colleges, and education agents drive bottom-of-funnel referrals at scale, while direct website inquiries and the host portal serve SMB/individual consumers top-of-funnel. Pricing is quote-based depending on city, accommodation tier (Standard vs. Superior), and meal plan (self-catering, breakfast, half board, or full board), and is not publicly disclosed. Leadership transitioned in August following the death of founding Director Peter Brown, with Harsha Shivdasani (Operations Director) continuing to lead the founder/family-owned business, which has no disclosed external institutional investors.

Name

Hosts International

Legal name

Hosts International Ltd

Website

https://hosts-international.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1988

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Hosts International is a UK-based homestay accommodation agency, founded in 1988, that matches international students, apprentices, interns, and professionals with over 10,000 vetted host families across 20 cities in the UK and Ireland, serving language schools, universities, education agents, and individual students.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Homestay Accommodation Services

NAICS

Rooming and Boarding Houses, Dormitories, and Workers' Camps (7213)

SIC

Hotels, Rooming Houses, Camps & Other Lodging Places (7000)

akta.pro primary industry

Homestay Placement & Host Family Management (EDAIALAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Hosted Private Rooms (On-Site Host) (THAMABAB), Overseas Secondary Student Housing, Homestay & Boarding Services (EDAIAHAH), Peer Mentorship, Buddy & Host-Family Matching Programs (EDAIAKAD)

Keywords

• Homestay accommodation services
• International student housing
• Host family matching
• Student guardianship services
• Education sector accommodation

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Homestay Placement Services: Hosts International earns revenue by matching international students with vetted host families and facilitating homestay accommodations. The company takes a commission or service fee from these placements. Hosts earn up to £500 per week through the HMRC Rent-a-Room Scheme.
2. Transfer Services: Airport and location transfer services for students, arranging transportation from arrival points to homestay accommodations.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Hosts International matches international students, interns, apprentices, and professionals with vetted host families across the UK and Ireland. The core service is personalised homestay placement, supplemented by group accommodation bookings, under-18s accommodation, guardianship, independent living options, airport transfers, and a Virtual Chat programme for pre-arrival cultural exchange with hosts.

Product overview

Hosts International operates as a homestay accommodation agency providing a portfolio of services centered on matching international students with vetted host families across the UK and Ireland. The core offering is the Homestay Accommodation service, which includes Group Accommodation for organized trips and Independent Living for self-sufficient students. The portfolio is supplemented by add-on services including Airport Transfer Services for student transportation, Guardianship Services for under-18 students, and a Virtual Chat program enabling cultural exchange before arrival. All services are coordinated through the company's London headquarters and registered with the British Council as an approved accommodation provider.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Homestay Accommodation Personalised homestay matching service placing international students with vetted host families across the UK and Ireland. Includes options for meal plans (self-catering, breakfast, half board, full board) and transport assistance. Serves individual students aged 8-75, language learners, interns, apprentices, and professionals.
• Group Accommodation Homestay accommodation service for groups of students travelling together, typically for school trips or organised educational programmes. Includes dedicated group coordinators to assist with large bookings.
• Independent Living Self-catering accommodation options for students and apprentices seeking more independent living arrangements while still receiving support services.
• Under 18s Accommodation Specialised homestay service for students under 18 years of age, with enhanced safeguarding policies and British Council registered standards for accredited providers.
• Guardianship Services Guardianship services for international students under 18, providing safeguarding and care support as required by UK regulations.
• Airport Transfer Services Transfer services arranging transportation for students from airports to their homestay accommodation, including taxi bookings and coach arrangements.
• Virtual Chat with a Local Host Online video chat programme connecting prospective international students with local homestay hosts before travel, enabling cultural exchange and English language practice.

Quantifiable outcome

• 4.3/5.0 Google rating from 95 reviews
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• English UKcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018Hosts International became one of the first Corporate members of English UK in January 2018. English UK is a registered charity and accredited network of English language schools. Membership requires passing Accreditation UK - one of the world's most rigorous inspection schemes. The partnership provides access to English UK's network of 450+ study centres.
• Lead5050 / WIE AwardsminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 October 2017Hosts International participates in the Lead5050 #WIE (Women In Industry) awards, celebrating women and men championing gender equality in the international education industry. Peter Brown received Champion of Change 2017 award and Hosts International received Enlightened Employer 2017 award.
• British CouncilcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHosts International is registered with the British Council as a provider of homestay and student house accommodation for adults and under-18s. This accreditation is a key differentiator and required for working with many educational institutions. Homestays are thoroughly vetted, trained, and regularly inspected to British Council standards.
• Language Schools and UniversitiescoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorHosts International works with leading language schools, universities, and education organisations across the UK and Ireland to provide homestay accommodation for their international students. Schools include those in London, Birmingham, Brighton, Bristol, Cambridge, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Manchester, Oxford, and Northampton.
• Education Agents and GuardianscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorWorking closely with education agents and guardians who refer students to Hosts International's homestay services. Dedicated group coordinators assist with large group bookings and individual placements.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Hostelworld: Global budget accommodation platform that captures a portion of international student and young traveller demand which might otherwise have been directed to homestay arrangements.
• University Living: Student accommodation aggregator serving international students globally, including homestay-style inventory, and competing for the same institutional and B2C demand.
• Amberstudent: Global student housing marketplace assisting international students with accommodation booking, including homestays, with a tech-driven proposition comparable to a more digitalised version of Hosts International's service.
• Booking.com: Global accommodation marketplace that competes with homestay agencies for short-term lodging demand and benefits from superior brand recognition and customer acquisition capability.
• Airbnb: Global short-stay accommodation platform that increasingly serves student and language-learner stays, competing for the same end customer with a much larger digital infrastructure and significantly broader inventory.
• Student.com: International student accommodation platform aggregating purpose-built student housing and homestays, overlapping with Hosts International's university and language student customer base.

Direct peers

• Host UK: UK-focused homestay and cultural exchange organisation matching international students with British host families, overlapping directly with Hosts International's core service in the same UK geographies.
• Homestay.com: Global homestay marketplace that matches students and travellers with host families, offering a near-identical transactional model to Hosts International but with a broader international footprint.
• City Homestay: UK-based homestay agency placing international students with host families in multiple UK cities, competing for the same institutional partners and B2C student customers.

Regional players

• International Student House (London): London-based residential and support organisation for international students, offering an alternative accommodation and cultural-immersion experience that competes for the same London student placements.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/hostsint
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/hosts-international

Compliance7 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Hosts International