Become a host family in Hastings

Why host?

Hosting an international student is an opportunity to enrich your family's summer with cultural exchange and meaningful additional income. Hastings has welcomed students from across Europe for decades, and host families remain at the heart of every stay.

Tax-free income through the UK Rent-a-Room Scheme

The UK's Rent-a-Room Scheme lets you earn up to £7,500 a year tax-free by letting a furnished room in your own home. What our host families earn over a season sits inside that allowance, so for most families the income is tax-free. The allowance covers everything you let a room for in a tax year, so it is worth checking your own total if you let rooms at other times. We pay promptly, by bank transfer, after each placement.

Cultural exchange and lifelong friendships

Welcoming a young person from a different country into your home is a quiet, daily kind of cultural exchange. Meals are shared, conversations stretch into evenings, and many of our families stay in touch with their students for years. The students leave with English they would not have learned in a classroom, and our hosts often tell us their own children grow from the experience too.

What we look for

We look for warm and welcoming families who can offer:

• A private bedroom for each student or shared room for a pair of students, with a bed, desk, and storage space
• Three meals a day during the stay (breakfast at home, packed lunch, evening meal at home), nutritious and varied, with dietary needs accommodated
• Daily transport to and from the school, by car or on foot, by an adult member of the household
• A safe and supportive home environment where the student is treated as part of the family for the duration of their stay
• Patience, curiosity, and a willingness to encourage the student's English in everyday conversation
• Respect for the student's culture and customs, and openness to learning about them
• Availability throughout the agreed placement window, with the host family acting as the student's point of contact during their stay

We meet every prospective host family in their own home before they welcome their first student.

How it works

When you apply, you can expect:

• A reply within 24 hours
• A home visit from our team to meet your family before you welcome your first student
• Ongoing support from your dedicated point of contact at Charles Eaton throughout the student's stay
• Prompt payment by bank transfer after each placement

Become a host

Please complete the form below to get started. We will be in touch within 24 hours, and once we have spoken, we will arrange a warm and informal home visit before you welcome your first student.