We try to get as much information about you from the application as possible to help us match you with a great family. If you are attending a school program, we will look for a host family that is within reasonable distance of your school location, accessible by transportation and has similar interests to you. We have a database of host families that we search through to find the best match possible for your stay in the community of your choice.

Like many Canadians, our hosts have different cultural backgrounds and lifestyles. Many host families are traditional two-parent families, while others are single-parent families, older couples with grown children who don’t live at home and single women, who are just as dedicated to the well-being of their homestay students as they are to their own families.

Once an application is received we will begin to look for your host family match. Once we have made a match, we will prepare a Host Family Profile that will tell you about the home, the members of the family, and their interests and preferred activities. We will send this to you via email at minimum 2 weeks prior to your arrival.

Proximity to schools can differ from community to community, but Trust Homestay strives to ensure homestays are no more than 30 minutes travel time by public transit, including walking, from partner schools.

Yes, the Host Family Profile that is sent to you will also include the telephone numbers and email addresses of the host family. The host family is looking forward to hearing from you and being able to connect via email or telephone prior to your arrival. A connection prior to departure will make your first meeting more comfortable and you will definitely be feeling excited to start your adventure in Canada.

While it may be difficult for you to speak with your host family about difficult topics, we do encourage sharing your feelings. Trust Homestay Coordinators are available to help you adjust to your host family and provide you with tips on how to communicate, as well as provide feedback to the host family when you are feeling uncomfortable about discussing something with the family. We want to be sure that you feel confident in our commitment to ensuring that the homestay experience is positive for the visitor and the host family.

While Trust Homestay Coordinators do their best to match host families with visitors, there may be potential for miscommunication, personality mismatches, or other factors that may influence the connection between a visitor and the host family. 

Trust Homestay Coordinators are local support for visitors and the host family.  They are there in the community to help clarify misunderstandings, mediate any difficult topics and help visitors and host families to build closer bonds.

In the case that the best choice is to move to a different host family, we are right there to help you find a new host family.  

We encourage you to connect with us to ensure that any questions or concerns that you have are addressed and resolved as soon as possible.  We want to be sure that you are happy and getting the most out of this experience. 

Contact us today to provide you with a personalized quote based on your length of stay, time of year you will be staying and your location of choice.

We understand that life doesn’t always go as planned and there may be a need to cut your visit short. We ask that you contact us as soon as possible to let us know about the change in your plans so that we can communicate this to the host family on your behalf. Based on our refund policy we will help you to determine if you can expect any of your payment to be refunded.

This happens a lot! We would be happy to communicate with your host family to check on their availability to extend your stay. If all is in order, we will connect with you to pay the additional fees and will be there to support you during the rest of your stay.

If you have a special dietary need such as an allergy to specific foods, or you are a vegetarian, please indicate this on your application form. This is important for us to know when we are trying to place you in a homestay.  We will advise the family of your dietary needs to be sure that your stay is as comfortable as possible.  

Your homestay family may ask you to help with supper, such as setting the table before supper or clearing away the dishes after supper. It is good manners to offer to help if you see that the family is busy with preparations. This is also a good time to practise English! Take time to talk to your family about food likes and dislikes.

Please refer to Trust Homestay Refund Policy.