Pandaaspect? DON'T!

[gougou]

'd expect you could really increase the quality and location of host families if they were offered a token amount for their trouble, say, 500-1000 RMB/month.

I strongly doubt that. By offering remuneration, you are creating an incentive for poor families to apply - families that don't want to have somebody living in, but only want to get the money. Those that are willing to take you in without any remuneration usually are the ones that are really committed.

[cdn_in_bj]

By offering remuneration, you are creating an incentive for poor families to apply - families that don't want to have somebody living in, but only want to get the money. Those that are willing to take you in without any remuneration usually are the ones that are really committed.

Those willing to do it for free are most likely expecting to get free English lessons in return. Who would be willing to take on a complete stranger and the associated risks if they were getting nothing in return? I don't doubt there are a few who would like Simon mentioned, but surely not enough to meet the demand. It seems the problem right now is that the pool of quality host families is small. And the homestay companies are not doing a good job of screening the families. Instead, they are being greedy and matching their clients with subpar hosts.

My reasoning is that by offering some compensation, you bring in hosts who would not have considered it in the first place - it would increase the quantity and quality of host families. Of course, the homestay company would need to screen each family carefully but I don't think it would be hard for them to weed out the unsuitable or "poor" hosts. In addition, the compensation could serve as a reminder to the host families about their obligations in the arrangement. If things got bad, the homestay company could act as an intermediary and withhold the "rent" from the host family until the issues were resolved. But ideally things wouldn't get to this point.

Perhaps I'm being too idealistic here, and I'll admit that right now I know very little about how these homestay things work. But it seems that the boarders are being told one thing by the homestay company, and the host families something else, and to me this is trouble waiting to happen. If the arrangements with and expectations from both sides were clearly spelled out, it would result in a better experience for both parties involved.

[Lu]

As to renumeration: this might draw in a lot of families that would be happy to accomodate a foreigner but cannot afford it (cost of food etc, or they have an extra room but would rather rent it out than have someone live there for free), so I think it could be useful. The host families need to be checked, but isn't that necessary anyway?

As to English lessons, I think a lot of foreigners wouldn't mind that, but the company has to be clear on this, and tell both sides the same story, so they know what to expect and what is expected of them, and there are no disappointments.

I would expect that a homestay company would meet their client on arrival at the airport, take them to the host family (and don't make them pay for the ride), provide their client with a basic orientation session since it will most likely be their first time to Beijing, help with getting their registration for temporary residency sorted out, assist with getting a subway/bus IC card, SIM card for their phone, etc.

Is it really that hard for these companies to do this?

If so, then I see a good business opportunity!

Reasonable expectations, if you ask me. Perhaps you should start a company :-)

[NickyR]

Just thought I'd point out that Roddy's quotes from Panda's website (post 14 on this thread) are apparently ripped off from Lotus Educational Foundation's FAQ page.

They might of course be plaigarised because of language difficulties in translating into English, but they seem to have americans working there so that seems unlikely.

I think that lots of homestay organisations seem to just copy and paste from the websites of other organisations (or more specifically from Lotus' webpage). I found a couple of examples of this when I was researching my trip and stayed away from them as a result. Perhaps it is an indication that they give little thought to the meaning and implications of stuff posted on their webpages...

[roddy]

It's extremely common - people i used to work with have gone on to jobs where their only duty has been to copy and paste stuff from other companies' websites onto their new employers sites. It's another red flag that a company is not putting the time and thought into their services that they should be.

Lotus is, I think, (and if you are considering using them do your own research please, no responsibility accepted) the only homestay firm to get a positive report on here. That doesn't necessarily mean a great deal as we're dealing with small sample sizes, but this is not an information-rich sector.

That said, I encourage people to be skeptical both towards the companies' claims of brilliance and disgruntled clients shouts of foul. Often people come to China with unrealistic expectations and when they fail to be met they blame whoever organized their stay. There's fault on both sides there, in some cases, the company for failing to make their clients fully aware of what they are getting and the client for expecting something they simply aren't going to get, at least at the price they are paying.

[boiten_valise]

Apparently, David Gao/Panda Aspect is contacting the mods. I would still like to hear his side of the story, because he never offered it to me, ever. He is completely fluent in English, much more than most of the "translators" in Beijing.

The main issue is that when I faced problems with his homestay program, David Gao did not try to find a solution or even compromise with me, but stopped all contact with me and avoided all my phone calls so I had no one else to rely on despite the fact that I was still "under his care" for three more months. I don't care about the money any more because I very much doubt that he'll have the heart to give it back. I just don't want others to go through the same experience I did, where the only person they thought they could count on, to know the ins and outs of Beijing, will be the one who has turned his back on them.

Like people said, it's business. But it's a business I would have rather not gone through.

[roddy]

Split the meta-discussion to here. Anything on Pandaaspect can continue . . .