Language schools face a challenging summer due to a shortage of host families for foreign students who are opting to study English in Malta over London because of the Olympics.
As a result, host families are giving their bed spaces to whoever offers them the best price, disregarding previous arrangements or commitments.
The smaller schools are suffering most, as the larger ones are able to offer higher prices per student, winning over host families already contracted to other schools from as far back as February and March.
Julian Cassar Torreggiani, the secretary of the Federation of English Language Teaching Organisations of Malta, called on the authorities to act fast to resolve the issue.
Due to the London Olympics, prices in the UK have shot up and as a result, students who were looking in Britain to study English were now opting to come to Malta instead, where the supply was already limited.
Mr Cassar Torreggiani said the federation was working on recommendations for the Malta Tourism Authority to review the current regulations governing host families so as to make them accountable for confirmed bookings they would have already accepted, in a similar manner to when hotels overbook.
“At present, there is nothing stopping them from ‘selling’ their beds/spaces to the highest bidder. After all, we understand that host families want to maximise their space. It’s unethical but there’s nothing stopping them,” he said.
Schools offering higher prices to poach contracted host families are doing so without any regard for the impact on students, on the other schools and Malta as a destination and without considering the logistical problems of finding alternative accommodation, Mr Cassar Torreggiani said.
The secretary is calling on the regulator to introduce some form of deterrent so host families would adopt a more professional approach where one language school is not dumped for another, avoiding logistical problems being created at the height of Malta’s peak season.
He said schools faced with this problem are carrying out door-to-door visits in a last-ditch attempt to entice people to offer any space they have to accommodate students.
With little time left before numbers peak, a further bottleneck is being created by inspectors who are now visiting every potential new host family before issuing a licence. Previously, such visits were carried out randomly.
Mr Cassar Torreggiani said the host family supply was already down compared with previous years and this was compounded by the situation in the UK.
€100
the average weekly payment for every student
He said the federation was urging the government to run a campaign to encourage more families to use their spare bedrooms to host students. The result would be an increase in bed stock without any prohibitive capital expenditure.
Hosting students began in the late 1970s when the language industry began to thrive. Although it is believed only 40 per cent of the 85,000 language students who come to Malta every year are teenagers, many, including adults, still opt to stay with a host family where they can practice the language in a family environment.
Potential host families were further put off when some years ago the government decided to clamp down on tax evasion. Today, the first €3,500 income is tax-free while another 65 per cent of the income is considered as expenses. A tax rate of 35 per cent is paid on the remaining 35 per cent income.
“It’s still very profitable to host students. It’s like having an extra contributing member of the family for a short period,” Mr Cassar Torreggiani said.
Host families receive an average of €100 a week for every student they host, having to provide them with breakfast, a packed lunch and dinner with the family in the evening. A host family cannot host more than four students at any one time.