Safeguarding in Host Accommodation

The benefits of host accommodation

Host accommodation has many benefits for travelling abroad:

• Homestay provides a safe, trusted environment where travellers can relax at the end of a busy day
• It is often significantly less expensive than staying in a hotel or hostel
• Hosts provide meals – generally half-board – so travellers save on eating out
• Mealtimes become an opportunity to interact with hosts in the target language, reinforcing language skills in stress-free, everyday settings
• Hosts possess local expertise to advise on good travel routes, places to go (or avoid), and how to access key services such as healthcare
• Under-18s can travel independently to countries where they may not be able to stay in a hotel or residence without adult supervision

Staying safe

Homestay accommodation helps protect travellers from common risks that can occur away from home:

• Balanced diet and proper nutrition: Meals are provided, ensuring travellers have access to a proper breakfast and evening meal
• Avoiding risks of crime: Hosts’ local knowledge can help travellers avoid risks related to areas of town that may be less safe for inexperienced or solo travellers
• Help with medical issues: Hosts can advise travellers on how to access healthcare services such as doctors or pharmacies
• Safe and sound at night: Hosts monitor curfews, ensuring that travellers remain in their accommodation if or when curfews are in place

Safeguarding in homestay contexts

At Blue Stamp Travel, we are committed to ensuring that all who travel with us do so safely and safeguarding is always our uppermost priority. As such, we recommend homestay accommodation for the many ways in which it helps manage the risks that travellers may face – especially young people travelling alone for the first time.

We are also alert to the need to ensure that hosts are suitable individuals, and that neither they nor the accommodation they provide puts travellers at risk of harm. For this reason, we maintain strict standards in the choice, vetting and management of hosts by our local partners.

How hosts are chosen, vetted and managed

Blue Stamp Travel works with host accommodation providers who manage their own networks of hosts in each city where we operate, such as language schools or specialist agencies. We cooperate closely with our partners to ensure host accommodation is safe and appropriate for young people. Our requirements are stated in a binding partnership agreement signed by Blue Stamp Travel and each language school or accommodation partner we work with.

Our partners manage their hosts to ensure high standards of safety for all travellers across the following areas:

• Hosts meet all local regulatory requirements with regard to vetting, criminal records checks and assessments of suitability
• Hosts provide suitable accommodation for their guests, with appropriate levels of privacy and access to facilities
• Host accommodation is located in suitable areas for travellers with regard to travel times and safety
• Hosts provide suitable and adequate meals for guests, catering for specific dietary requirements if requested

Vetting and regulatory checks for hosts

Blue Stamp Travel requires that all hosts meet all local regulatory requirements to demonstrate their suitability to provide accommodation to travellers aged under 18.

For France and Spain, we stipulate that all providers of homestay accommodation must provide a criminal records check before they can be considered as hosts. In some countries such as Germany, different legal frameworks mean it is not always possible to demand to see a host’s criminal record. In those cases our local partners conduct detailed background checks to ensure hosts’ suitability.

Ongoing management of hosts

Our local partners manage hosts and act on feedback from travellers and from us to ensure ongoing high standards. Most hosts have been working with our partners for many years, so issues can be addressed quickly and effectively if any arise.

Accommodation checks

All potential hosts are assessed to ensure their accommodation provides appropriate levels of privacy and facilities for guests, such as access to bathrooms.

Solo travellers will generally be offered single accommodation with hosts wherever possible. Some trip formats such as group trips or summer camps provide homestay accommodation in twin rooms. In such cases, Blue Stamp Travel will always insist that rooms are shared only with other travellers of a similar age and the same gender.

Accommodation locations

Our partners ensure that host accommodation is situated in suitable locations for guests to travel to the main activity of their stay, such as a course at a language school.

Most homestays are within short walking distance of a language school – typically less than 30 minutes. At peak times of year, and in some locations this can be slightly longer but is very rarely longer than 45 minutes

Dietary requirements

Hosts are expected to make suitable adaptations to accommodate guests’ dietary requirements, by providing vegetarian or vegan food, for example, or in the case of allergies and intolerances. Please note that additional fees may apply in certain destinations – check the information on your chosen course page or your group quote.