During the busy Isle of Man TT® and Manx Grand Prix race periods, there is not enough tourist accommodation for all the visitors, so homestay offers a quality and affordable accommodation option for visitors to the Island.
As the name suggests, if you choose Homestay accommodation, you will be staying in the hosts home. The accommodation will meet a minimum standard but you should not expect formal bed and breakfast or hotel style accommodation.
Learn more about Homestay in the Visitor Information Pack
We’re always looking to introduce new Homestay Hosts and welcome hosts from all walks of life. Our hosts vary greatly from those living alone, young couples, families to retired people, there is no exclusive club. If you have a spare room (or more), or are going away and want to rent out your whole home, enquire today to start hosting guests and earning money.
New to Homestay? Take a look at the Host Information Pack
Staying in an affordable and comfortable home, Homestay offers visitors a unique opportunity to experience the races and the Isle of Man from a local perspective. All registered Homestays are inspected to ensure they meet strict guidelines and are clean, tidy and presentable.
The Isle of Man weather can be unpredictable to say the least, which is maybe another reason homestay is such a popular option, offering visitors a guaranteed warm and dry place to sleep.
By law, all Homestay hosts are required to register their properties with MiQuando Limited. Our aim is to introduce a service for you to check the registration status of a property online.
Not only are registered Homestays inspected to ensure they meet minimum standards of cleanliness and comfort, but they must also have working smoke alarms on each floor and a fire blanket in the kitchen and subject to approval by The Isle of Man Fire and Rescue Service, Fire Safety Department.
Registered Homestays are all have public liability insurance arranged by the Department of Tourism and will be issued with a certificate to display to guests.
If you have any issues with your registered Homestay, the MiQuando Homestay team will be on hand to help you. Unfortunately, we are unable to assist with any problems which may arise with a property that is not officially registered.
Registered Homestays are allowed a maximum of 6 guests at any one time
On a Self-catering basis, you rent the whole property for the exclusive use of your party to experience life in the Isle of Man.
With Bed and Breakfast, you stay with a friendly host family in their own home where other guests may be staying in other rooms. This offers a truly unique opportunity to experience the races and the Isle of Man from a local perspective.
Homestay hosts are free to set their own tariffs. The tariffs below are provided as a guide only and providers can charge a higher tariff provided this is agreed at the time of booking.
If you book bed and Breakfast accommodation the price should be advertised as per person, per night. Prices commonly range from £25 - £40 per person, per night.
If you book self-catering accommodation the price should be advertised as per property/unit, per night and not as per person, per night. Prices commonly range from £60 per night for 2 guests up to £180 or more for 6 guests.
Check out the latest Visitor Guide to Tariffs
Where children under the age of 16 can be accommodated in the same room as their parents/guardians, we suggest they stay free of charge and pay for breakfast only.
The website should show the events and dates when a Homestay property is available/booked. We will do our best to keep this information as accurate as possible, but please be aware that we are reliant on the Homestay Hosts informing us of any bookings and dates they are not available.
We know this is an area that can be improved and are in regular contact with and receiving updates from most Hosts.
All registered properties reporting availability are shown on our website. We also regularly post updates to both our Facebook page and Facebook Group, which we encourage you to use too.
When you find a property you would like to book, please contact the Homestay host directly to make a booking request, using the contact information provided.
You should expect to give your name, address and contact details and make arrangements to pay your deposit. Prior to booking, we strongly recommend you check with the Host for any 'House Rules', access restrictions during roads closed periods and you should also advise your host of any allergies, mobility problems or special requirements you may have.
If your booking is through an agency you should check their booking conditions.
Homestay hosts will usually request a deposit at the time of booking, this would normally be a maximum of 20% of the total amount due. All deposits should be acknowledged by email or letter.
You should pay the remainder of the balance to your host in cash after having had the opportunity to view the accommodation. For bed and breakfast guests, the final bill or invoice should be settled in cash the day after arrival. Self-catering guests should pay the final balance in cash on arrival, unless agree otherwise in writing at the time of booking.
Prior to making any payment, we encourage all visitors and hosts to have some form of booking agreement in place. At the very least, this should provide details of the accommodation being offered, the dates agreed, the total amount due, how and when payments are to be made, cancellation policies, plus any additional details as agreed between the visitors and the hosts.
When making a payment to someone you do not know, it makes sense to be careful. If paying online we would recommend using a trusted 3rd Party Payment Provider that offers some form of payment protection e.g. Paypal. *** Note a Paypal does not offer any dispute resolutuion or payment protection for a Friends and Family payment! This is only available for payments identified as being for 'goods and services'.
Unfortunately, sometimes our plans change. If that happens to you please contact your Homestay Host as soon as possible. Guidance for Homestay Hosts recommends that...
For a cancellation by a visitor up to 4 weeks prior to arrival, providing a suitable alternative booking has been secured, we recommend the full deposit should be refunded (less any bank charges/fees incurred).
For a cancellation by a Host at any time, all fees paid must be refunded.
For a cancellation by the organisers of the event, we recommend rolling forward the booking to a future event, or where that is not possible, the full deposit should be refunded (less any bank charges/fees incurred).
We strongly recommend all visitors have appropriate travel insurance in place to cover their visit to the Isle of Man.
Where possible you should try to politely resolve the issue with your Homestay host in the first instance. If you are unable to resolve the problem directly, please let us know as soon as possible, by getting in touch using the details on the Contact page. If you wish to make a complaint of any sort, please do so before you leave your accommodation and consider providing photographic evidence where applicable.
