Bookings are only guaranteed after full payment, including the administration fee, has reached HFS London’s bank account. HFS London reserves the right to cancel any Homestay booking where payment has not been received by the due date.

All payments must be made in pounds sterling (GBP) as all our payments are invoiced in UK pound sterling.

All outstanding monies must be paid 7 days after invoice date or before visitor’s arrival, whichever is the sooner. This applies equally with all late Homestay reservations.

All payments must be made to HFS London directly and not the host family. All payments for extensions to Homestays must also be made to HFS London directly and not the host family.

HFS London will not pay for any bank charges. This also applies to any refunds payable to the visitor. Refunds for Homestay will be made in the same method that the payment was received and will be at HFS London’s discretion.

For Bank transfers, please add £10 to your payment to cover all bank charges in the UK. It is important that when making bank transfers to HFS London, you consult your bank with regards to any charges in your country that may be applicable. HFS London will not cover the bank charges from your country for any Homestay booked.

It is essential that you contact your Host to inform them of your arrival time before your arrival date. If you fail to do this, HFS London cannot guarantee that your Host will be home at the time of your arrival to meet and greet you and in some cases, you may even have to wait outside until they arrive home.

If you have informed your Host about your arrival time and on the arrival day there are delays or disruptions that might cause you to arrive at your Homestay later than planned, please inform your Host as a matter of urgency. The Host may have arranged other plans on that day which might be affected by your late arrival, so it is important that you inform them of any delays.

If you arrive midweek or on a working day, it is very likely that the Host will not be home until later in the evening. You need to arrange your travel so you arrive at the homestay in the evening (suggested around 8pm).  If you arrive in London earlier, you will need to be prepared to wait till a reasonable time when the Host will be home.

If you intend to book flights meaning that you arrive at your homestay either (i) very early in the morning or (ii) very late at night, you should have informed HFS London before the homestay was been booked for you. If you inform us of this after your homestay has been confirmed, there might be occasions where your host is unable to accommodate you. You may then be required to find, and pay for, your own accommodation for a day or night.  HFS London may, depending on the time of year, be able to find an alternative homestay for you for one day or night.

The Host is not expected to collect students from the airport or at a pick-up point.  The only exception to this will be where HFS London has agreed this in advance with the Host and the student, usually at the time a booking is made.

Regarding airport transfers, HFS London will not accept responsibility where incorrect information regarding the arrival has been provided. HFS London will seek to recover all costs arising where incorrect information has been provided.

Regarding airport transfers, there will be no refund for all “no-show” bookings except where HFS London is clearly at fault for non-collection.

Where we receive a complaint from a host about a guest, we will investigate the matter with both sides. If we think that the situation is resolvable, we may set a period of time to assess if the situation improves. If the situation does not improve, we reserve the right to (i) relocate the guest or (ii) ask them to leave the homestay. If we ask a guest to leave the homestay, we will give the guest reasonable notice to vacate the homestay. Notice will take effect from the point that we formally ask the guest to vacate. When determining reasonable notice, we will take into consideration (i) the length of the original booking (ii) the length of time the guest has been in the home (iii) the nature of the complaint(s) raised. In a typical homestay booking, reasonable notice might be anything from 24 hours to 7 days, depending on the circumstances.

HFS London also reserves the right to (i) ask a guest to leave the homestay without notice and/or (ii) to refuse to accommodate/relocate a guest should their behaviour be deemed unacceptable. Examples of unacceptable behaviour might be threatening, abusive or illegal behaviour.

In all cases of dispute, HFS London reserves the right to have final say on the question of any refund.

If you wish to leave early (after arrival), you must write to HFS London during office hours and serve 2 weeks’ notice, subject to a minimum stay of 4 weeks. The start of the notice period will apply from the date HFS London receives the written notice.  We will refund any payment made from the end of the notice period until the end of your original request. For stays of 4 weeks or less, there will be no refund.  For stays longer than 4 weeks, 2 weeks’ written notice must still be served. Failure to serve notice in writing will mean that there will be no refund issued.

Written notice must be received during office hours, which are from 09.30 – 17.30 (GMT) Monday to Friday. Saturdays, Sundays and national holidays (including the days between Christmas and New Year) are excluded.

Should a visitor wish to extend their stay, HFS London must be given 2 week’s notice. Extensions are subject to availability. If an extension with the same Homestay is not possible, HFS London will endeavour to find a similar alternative.

All revisions and extensions to a visitor’s stay must come through HFS London directly and not the host.

If more than 2 weeks’ notice is given, there will be a 100% refund less 2 weeks’ accommodation charge.

For less than 2 weeks’ notice, there will be a 100% refund less 4 weeks’ accommodation charge.

Please note that:

• Written cancellation notice must be given within HFS London’s office hours of Monday to Friday between 9.30am and 5.30pm (GMT). Saturdays, Sundays and national holidays (including the days between Christmas and New Year) are excluded.
• In all cases the administration fee is non-refundable.
• For all “no-shows”, there will be no refund. A “no-show” occurs where a student or guest fails to arrive at the Homestay on the confirmed arrival date without previous notification to HFS London or the host family. In this situation, the student or guest will have 48 hours after the original date of arrival to contact HFS London or the host family to explain the reasons for the no-show. We will impose the no refund policy if (i) we are not satisfied with the explanation provided or (ii) if the guest does not make contact within the 48 hour period above.
• If after a booking confirmation has been issued and your Host Family subsequently cancels your booking (either before your arrival or during your stay), HFS London will find a suitable and comparable alternative Host Family for you. You will not be entitled to an automatic refund. If the alternative Host Family cannot be found then HFS London will refund you accordingly.
• In all cases of dispute, HFS London reserves the right to have the final say on the question of any refund.
• Our hosts are normal British families so cancellation by host does sometimes occur, especially in the case of personal emergencies. If a host cancels a booking at any time prior to arrival, we will offer you an alternative homestay. If you choose not to accept the alternative homestay, or if we cannot find one, then we will offer you a full refund. We will not be held liable for the costs of alternative accommodation, or for any other costs incurred, as a result of a cancellation by host prior to arrival (whenever so occurring).

HFS London reserves the right to demand written parental consent for junior (under 18 years old) visitors to take part in any activities outside of their normal schedule, and to deny consent to these activities if parental consent is not provided. We also reserve the right to override any parental consent provided and deny consent to junior visitors for additional activities where we deem the associated risks to be too high. Examples of these activities may include travelling outside of London, staying out later than the recommended curfew or staying overnight away from the homestay accommodation.

Use of kitchen, phone, washing facilities, and appliances are up to the discretion of the host family. Loss of front door keys, and damage to property belonging to the host family are payable by the visitor. The visitor is expected to conduct themselves in a reasonable manner in terms of using host family’s facilities, noise and inviting guests to the home (especially after 10pm).