Housing & Meals
Housing while abroad is an integral part of your Arcos Journeys Abroad experience.
Our programs use a mix of homestays, hotels, guest houses and lodges.
The majority of our programs have a homestay component. We believe that living with a homestay is the best way to truly experience the host country. The cultural growth and insight you will gain by living with a homestay is truly unmatched.
Prior to your program, we will gather important housing information from you to guide us in our reservations process.
During your program, your Arcos onsite director will address any questions you may have regarding housing.
Housing Options
Below are the types of housing options used on Arcos programs
Homestay
The option we are best known for and that makes the programs unique and effective. Many of our participants maintain lasting friendships with their homestay long after the program ends. Typically, two to three students are placed per homestay.
Hotels
Almost all of our programs use some portion of a hotel stay. Hotels are typically rated 3 stars. Hotel stays are mainly used on our excursions outside of the program city and on programs with a travel component. Rooms are doubles, triples or quadruples.
Guest houses and lodges
For many of our programs that are part of the "Active Discovery & Wellness" Program Type we find ourselves hiking, trekking, or out in the outdoors. A common type of lodging under these circumstance is a local guest house or lodge (example a mountain lodge or rainforest lodge). Sleeping arrangements are typically communal.
Why Homestay Experiences?
Living and sharing your experience abroad with a homestay is one of the important highlights of being abroad. In fact, this can be the most enriching and lasting aspect of spending time in a foreign country.
Many participants often maintain relationships with their homestays well beyond the conclusion of the program.
Our homestays make up an important part of our team.
The hosts are carefully selected and interviewed, and have extensive prior experience.
Living with a homestay is the best choice for a true immersion experience.
What is the Homestay Selection Process?
Most of our homestays have been working with us for many years now and have extensive experience hosting international students. In order to become a homestay the family must be vetted by our onsite staff which includes visiting the home and conducting an interview. We request references and a police background check.
All participants complete our Housing and Medical Background forms after program acceptance. With this information, we begin identifying important decision-making information such as pet and food allergies. We also capture information such as dietary restrictions or preferences. These details help us narrow down the homestays that we can then consider for the participant. Next, we look at the students' likes and interests to determine which of our homestay who have met their criteria thus far will be the best match. We also consider factors such as location and how far the homestay is from our meeting points.
Homestay details are emailed to participants two weeks prior to the program start date. The email will contain a description of the homestay and their contact information. Participants are welcome to contact the homestay in advance to introduce themselves.