Brochure for group bookings

We are an independent provider of student accommodation and English language tuition based in London, UK. We offer a friendly and efficient service for international students and trainees, and are one of the largest accommodation agencies in the UK.

We can also provide coaches and plan itineraries within the U.K, English language courses, tickets to tourist attractions and much more to groups of all ages and budgets from all over the world.

The areaGroups booked with us will be placed with host families living in close proximity of each other in the South London district of Morden. This is in zone 3 of South West London, is close to Wimbledon & Mitcham and is approximately 15-20 minutes by train to Central London. The area is a safe, suburban family area, which is the perfect location for accommodating juniors. Morden and the surrounding areas offer brilliant local attractions –

Full of beautiful and unique architecture and independently owned restaurants, Wimbledon Village offers a wonderful day out away from the fast pace of central London.

Merton Abbey Mills, an arts and crafts village sitting on the picturesque River Wandle offers live music, a wide range of places to eat, and activities for all the family.

Deen City Farm is an urban farm offering a fun and educational day out. Based in Merton, the farm offers plenty of fun activities, cafes and workshops, giving its visitors a taste of the English countryside in the heart of London.

Only a few minutes walk from Wimbledon station, the New Wimbledon Theatre is visually stunning, with baroque and Edwardian details, with a wonderful atmosphere, it is a great day out.

What to expectAt London Homestays we pride ourselves on our high standards and we strive to place all of our students with families who they will feel comfortable with. We work with the preferences you have relayed to us, and we match students to suitable families using our vast database of contacts. All host families will have been visited and approved by our trained assessor. A local coordinator will be available at the meeting point most days and will be on hand to assist the group leaders.

The hosts offer ‘regular’ family homes in a suburban area. The families will all be English speakers and English will be the main language spoken in the home, although we cannot guarantee the families will be native English. Each student will have their own single bed. In group accommodation, bunk beds may be used for students under 18 years old.

For groups we offer full board accommodation which is breakfast, packed lunch and dinner. The students will be dropped off by their hosts at a pre decided meeting point each morning at 7:45am. Upon collection at 6:45pm the students will return to their host family and have family dinner.

London offers a unique British experience for group visits. Part of the wonderful appeal of London is its multiculturalism, with over 270 nationalities making up the population, which contributes towards the cities diversity. Morden is an ethnically diverse area, with a quarter of its population originating from around the world.

At London Homestays, we are dedicated to ensuring that both our students and host families have an enjoyable homestay experience, and we operate a no tolerance policy on discrimination, therefore we cannot offer any preference with the host families’ race or ethnicity.

What we cannot offer or promise for groups is:

• Superior accommodation or areas of high demand i.e. Notting Hill.• Any percentage breakdown of host ethnicity.• Single rooms unless specifically requested at the time of booking. • Any unannounced visits from any third party not staying in the accommodation.

How it worksSTEP 1 - Visit the group bookings information page at www.londonhomestays.com/groups. Firstly check to ensure you accept the pricing structure and supplemental costs. Once you are happy to proceed, complete the enquiry form further down the page.

IMPORTANT: Students staying in group accommodation will stay in multiple or twin rooms in groups of 3 or 4. Please note that during peak season and/or for larger groups, it may be necessary to host up to 6 students in a larger home. Please ensure when making your enquiry if you wish to use hosts who only accommodate up to 4 students. Please note this is subject to availability and can not be changed once the host families have been allocated.

STEP 2 - Our team will receive the information and check availability for your group size, requirements and date you wish to travel.

STEP 3 - Within 24-48 hours of your application, we will send you via email a response to your enquiry. If there is no availability for the dates you wish to travel, we will let you know if we have availability for alternative dates.

STEP 4 - Once it has been established that we have availability for your dates, we will confirm with you that you wish to proceed. You will then be given an ‘option date’, usually in approximately 4 weeks time, by which date we will ask you to either confirm you wish to book, or cancel the request. Please also let us know at this stage if you wish to book any supplemental items, or group activities with our agency.

STEP 5 - If you wish to proceed with the booking, we will send you a contract of service, which details the obligations for each party. Please note for smaller groups (20 pax or less) and if the arrival date is less than 10 weeks away, we will require payment in full as soon as possible, so one invoice will be sent to cover the total booking value. Otherwise we will send you two invoices, one of which will be for the deposit (15% of the overall balance), to be paid right away. The second invoice will be for the remaining balance, which will need to be paid no less than 6 weeks prior to your group arrival.

STEP 6 - Once the deposit (or full) payment has been received in our account, and the contract is signed and returned to us via email, the booking can then be confirmed.

STEP 7 - Please send us the travel details (ensuring there are no week-day morning or afternoon arrivals) and passenger list, including any special requests per individual students (allergies, dietary requirements, preferences such as no pets, etc. Please include which students wish to share with who (we will try to match as best we can, but please note this may not always be possible), and we will send you back a confirmed rooming list.

STEP 8 - Please arrange for travel insurance for all passengers in your group to cover any loss, theft, damage, injury or cancellation.

STEP 9 - Finally, we send you an email introducing you to your designated local organiser, who will introduce themselves and liaise with you regarding any remaining small details. Enjoy London to its fullest!

Full board meal plans offered dailyOur host families offer Full Board accommodation, meaning that meals will be provided three times daily throughout the student’s stay. Meals will be taken with the family whenever possible, they will be nutritionally balanced and as an example might include:-

· Breakfast - fruit juice, cereal, toast with butter and jam/ marmalade, tea or coffee/milk.· Dinner - meat or fish course with vegetables or salad, potatoes, rice or pasta· Dessert or fruit/cheese and coffee.· Packed lunches: 2 rounds of sandwiches (4 slices of bread filled with for example cheese, egg, cold meat, etc), a fruit, crisps, cake or biscuit and a drink.

Students will be given sufficient drinks and/or access to drinking water throughout their stay.

The meeting pointsThere are numerous drop off points we can arrange depending on where the students need to get to each day. The hosts will drop the students to the meeting point each day at approximately 7:45am and will collect again from the same point at approximately 6:45pm. Reasonable changes in pickup/drop off time can often be arranged in advance, if we are informed before the group’s arrival.

1. Mitcham Eastfields Station – Eastfields Road, Mitcham, CR4 2ND This is a Zone 3 overground station with great access to Central London. The average journey time to London Victoria Station is 19 minutes or 29 minutes to London Bridge. Trains leave to Central London every 10 to 15 minutes.

2. Coach Park - Recreation Way, Mitcham, CR4 1PJ We would recommend this meeting point for any groups travelling by coach. There is easy access to A3, which is ideal for day trips outside of London or by travelling into London by coach. There is sufficient space for overnight coach parking.

3. Mitcham Junction Tram Station - Carshalton Road, Mitcham, CR4 4HN This is a Zone 3 tram station or a zone 4 overground station. We would recommend this station for groups wishing to travel to Wimbledon or who require access to the District line. The journey time to Wimbledon Station is on average 13 minutes with trams coming every 5 to 10 minutes.

4. Morden Station – Lidl car park, 29 Aberconway Road, Morden, SM4 5LN This is a Zone 4 underground station and is situated on the Northern Line. The average journey time to Waterloo Station (London Eye, Big Ben etc) is 25 minutes. ‘Tube’ trains leave every 3 to 5 minutes and travel right through the heart of Central London.

Alternatively if the group will be travelling by coach we could recommend a local car park large enough to accommodate a coach each day.

For all enquiries please visit:

www.londonhomestays.com

Home from Home Student Services | 703 London Road | North Cheam | SM3 9DL Tel: +44 208 395 0333 | Email: info@londonhomestays.com

H O M E F R O M H O M ES T U D E N T S E R V I C E S