Receiving a paid homestay enquiry
Once your profile has been published on Lingoo you will start to receive enquiries from members who would like to stay with you. Whether you are a Host Family or Teacher Member, remember you decide who stays with you, when and for how long.
Read the guest’s profile and message in detail before responding. They will want to know your availability and some basic details about what you offer. Please reply to all enquiries, even if you decline an offer.
If you’re interested, you can start discussing a stay. Get to know the guest before progressing to the reservation stage. Ask about their interests, lifestyle and expectations of the stay. Be prepared to share your Credentials file if requested, just to offer further assurance (read about the Credential file here) .
If you are new to Lingoo, the number of reservations you can accept is limited to 3. As soon as you have received your first evaluation, this limit will be lifted.
For your own security, keep all communication within the Lingoo secure messaging system at all times.
When all aspects of the stay have been discussed and agreed your guest can start the reservation process by clicking ‘Confirm a stay’.
Your guest will initiate the Paid Language Stay Contract and both parties now complete a contract together online. When you are both happy, your guest will buy a booking voucher to confirm the reservation. You can read more about the Paid Language Stay Contract here .
Your guest now buys a booking voucher to confirm the reservation.
The booking voucher equals 15% (for Full members) 17.5% (for Verified members) and 20% (for Free members) of the price of half or full-board, and language lessons included automatically for Teachers’ stays. This reservation fee is subject to UK VAT, depending on where the guest lives and is retained by Lingoo to cover the cost of all services provided to our members.
Both parties can now access and print the Paid Language Stay Contract that contains the important information and commitments discussed and agreed. The booking engages both members to respect the cancellation conditions.
At the moment of payment for the stay, you (the Host) will discount the agreed price by 15% (net). The difference of 2.5% for Verified members and 5% for Free members (plus VAT if applicable) is at the guest’s expense.
Your guest pays the balance of the total cost directly to you. The date(s) of payment and payment details are indicated in the contract as specified by yourself in your questionnaire.
Shortly after your guest completes the stay, we will ask them to leave an evaluation of their experience. This important feedback helps us improve the service and will be published on your profile.
Lingoo provides a number of safeguards to protect both the host and the guest when booking through our secure system. For example, their deposit is held securely so that if they need to cancel the trip for any reason they could be entitled to a refund. You can read Lingoo’s cancellation policy here .
We also protect your confidentiality through our secure messaging system, carry out stringent identity validation and provide a completed contract containing all details of the agreement for each reservation. This contract is a safeguarding tool that is also useful when clarifying a dispute. We strongly advise against taking homestay bookings outside of the secure Lingoo system. Members who reserve a stay outside the Lingoo system will be systematically removed from the site.
