San Francisco Homestay with EC English Schools

Home Accommodation Accommodation in the USA Accommodation in San Francisco San Francisco Accommodation: San Francisco Homestay

Immerse yourself in local culture and hospitality with a selected host family.

Stay with a local host family in San Francisco for a unique way to experience the city and its people as you improve your English. Homestays can be a comfortable and welcoming environment for international students, and San Francisco is a beautiful place for an immersive English learning experience. Stay with a host family in the city’s heart or the surrounding areas like Daly City or Pacifica and experience everyday life and truly connect with the local community.

Room type

Single

Bathroom

Shared

Board status

Bed & Breakfast or Half Board

Available

Year-round

Arrival and departure

Saturday/Saturday

Homestay Overview

Your home-away-from-home experience with EC

Your Neighbourhood

San Francisco is a vibrant and diverse city of 800,000 inhabitants. People of many different ethnicities live in the Bay Area, and our host families reflect this diversity. Host families can include single people, couples, single-parent families, and families with multiple generations living in one home. Many of our host families are of Filipino descent, and their family-oriented culture means that they treat the students they host as part of their own family. All host families are English-speaking and eager to share San Francisco’s diversity with international visitors.

Some host families live in residential neighbourhoods in the southwestern part of San Francisco, but most are located in the towns of Daly City, South San Francisco, and Pacifica. Some of the San Francisco neighbourhoods where host families live include Glen Park, Mission Terrace, Excelsior, Bernal Heights, Portola, the Outer Mission, the Outer Richmond, and the Outer Sunset.

Your Accommodation

Staying with a local family is a great way to immerse oneself in American culture. This interaction with a family helps students communicate and practice their English in a more relaxed environment while also exposing themselves to new experiences—be it lifestyle, local food, or simple daily routines.

Housing

Most homes are single-family or two-family homes. The latter is usually two floors with one home on one floor and one on the other.

Room Options

Students are placed in a single or twin room. Each room is furnished with a bed, desk, dresser, and closet, while some rooms have TVs and other amenities. Rooms and living areas must be kept neat and tidy. Students also have access to a shared bathroom.

Laundry

The host family provides bed linen and towels. Some San Francisco families do not have a washing machine in their home and use a laundromat—this information will be included in the host family profile. In cases where families have a washing machine, students can use the laundry facilities, although the number of washes per week remains at the discretion of each family.

WiFi

Internet access is included, and phone usage is restricted to incoming calls only.

House rules

Arrangement and Transport

Journey to school

The typical commute from a homestay to school is 45 – 60 minutes by public transportation. Times are approximate. San Francisco’s transport system is run by MUNI, which operates only in San Francisco, and regional BART. If students are staying in South San Francisco, Daly City, or Pacifica, they will need to pay regular BART fares as well as fares for other local buses. There isn’t a monthly BART pass available outside San Francisco. Students should expect to pay between $60-$200/month for public transit (the price depends on where the host family is located; students may or may not qualify for the monthly discounted transit pass). Public transportation may not be available in many host family locations after 8 or 9 pm.

Host Family Locations

Host families are located either in San Francisco’s city limits or in the adjacent towns of Daly City and South San Francisco. Some of the typical neighbourhoods where host families live are Bernal Heights, Glen Park, Inner and Outer Richmond, Inner and Outer Sunset, St. Francis Wood, Excelsior, Castro, and Mission.

Arrival and Departure

Available: Year-round

Arrival day: Saturday

Departure day: Saturday

Contact

Emergency number: +1 424 428 88 66

Gallery

Discover all that San Francisco has to offer with new friends from all over the world.

*Images are for representation purpose only. Actual furnishings may differ from those shown. Amenities and services are subject to change.

Airport Pickup

If you book an airport transfer:

Before you depart: Please contact the driver at +1 415 350 9944 before you depart to make direct contact regarding your airport transfer pickup (you can also contact them via WhatsApp by text).

When you arrive, Call the driver at +1 415 350 9944 using WhatsApp to meet them curbside.

If you have trouble using your phone, please use the white courtesy phone at the airport terminal and ask an airport employee for help.

EC San Francisco’s Emergency Phone Number is +1 424 428 8866.
EC San Francisco School Telephone is+1 415 362 3300.

Contact us

House Rules

No smoking is permitted
Families might have pets
Students might be given a house key, though alternative arrangements might be sought.
Possibility of no kitchen use
Students arriving in EC accommodation between 22.00 and 08.00 may be asked to book alternative accommodation for their first night. This is to ensure the students’ safety on arrival.
Students are required to follow the EC Student Code of Conduct; failure to do so can result in termination of the accommodation.

For more accommodation terms and conditions please refer to EC accommodation policy.

Cancellations

Cancellation prior to arrival

Students cancelling fewer than 14 days before arrival will be charged a two-week accommodation fee at the standard accommodation rate and accommodation placement fees.

Cancellation after arrival

Students leaving their accommodation must give notice in writing four weeks prior to termination. After deducting the price of accommodation used, including the required notice period, charged at standard accommodation rates, students will be refunded the remaining accommodation costs. If the four-week notice period is not provided, a cancellation fee equal to four weeks of the accommodation cost will apply.

Terms & Conditions

What EC Brings to the Table

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FAQS

What do the different bathroom terms mean?

En Suite: A bathroom that is connected to a bedroom, forming part of the same overall room. Both a single and a twin room can be en-suite.

Private Bathroom: A bathroom that is for the exclusive use of a student in a designated room that is not en-suite. Applies to single rooms only.

Semi-Private Bathroom: A bathroom that is designated for students in a specific room(s). A maximum of two students may share a semi-private bathroom.

Shared Bathroom: A bathroom that is shared by three or more students. Only one student occupies the bathroom at any time.

Communal Bathroom: A bathroom that is shared by multiple students, normally on the same residence floor. The large room will contain multiple toilet stalls and separate shower stalls. Multiple students may use this facility at the same time.

When will I receive the family profile?

You will receive the profile at least two weeks before your arrival date.

Can I change my host family?

Your host family is assigned according to your requirements. After your arrival, we only change host families if serious complaints occur.

How do you assign the host family?

This is based on availability and any special requirements you might have. Please make sure that all your requests are expressed at the time of the booking.

Can I keep staying at EC accommodation before/after my English course?

The accommodation is only available for the duration of the course. Accommodation is usually booked from Saturday to Saturday.

Who will I be sharing with if I have chosen the shared-bedroom option?

You will be sharing this with another same-gender student. When students share rooms, we try our best to place students from different countries or languages together. Please note that during high season, this cannot be guaranteed.