Homes For Students Review

In this blog, what I want to do is review Homes For Students. I don’t want to review each one of their locations because they might add or take some away, however, they will all be a reflection of their brand and company that sits behind the student accommodation.

This is the start of reviewing the student accommodation company and provider and if there is something you want to know and I haven’t included, please let me know and then I can add it into this review and future ones!

The Company: Homes For Students

Homes For Students are mainly a management company, but what does that mean? For students, not a lot. It basically means that they will manage and operate the building on behalf of the landlord or investors.

They will then put their mark on the building by branding it, fitting it out with gyms, cinemas, social spaces and much more. They will then make sure the building meets certain health and safety requirements all the while making sure that the students are having a great time!

They have proved their success by replicating it in many cities around the UK and Ireland.

At the time of writing, Homes For Students are a relatively young company and they manage a lot of buildings. It is likely that they also own some of their buildings which gives them more freedom to do as they wish.

From a student perspective, they look after their students, they make sure that the building is clean and well maintained. They host plenty of events if they have space and if not, they find lots of other ways to engage students.

As a business, they focus on the location of the accommodation and the quality of what is inside with all their rooms. You can read all about them here: About Homes For Students

What you might not know is that Homes For Students owns a couple of other brands as well, such as Prestige Student Living and Urban Student Life. For me, I quite like the fact they have other brands because they can keep the same standard and procedures but offer it in a different way.

Homes For Students Accommodation Locations

Currently they have accommodations in:

• ABERDEEN
• ABERYSTWYTH
• BIRMINGHAM
• BOLTON
• BRADFORD
• BRIGHTON
• BRISTOL
• CAMBRIDGE
• CANTERBURY
• COLCHESTER
• COVENTRY
• DERBY
• DUBLIN
• DUNDEE
• DURHAM
• EDINBURGH
• EGHAM
• EXETER
• GLASGOW
• GUILDFORD
• HIGH WYCOMBE
• KINGSTON UPON THAMES
• LANCASTER
• LEAMINGTON SPA
• LEEDS
• LEICESTER
• LINCOLN
• LIVERPOOL
• LONDON
• LOUGHBOROUGH
• LUTON
• MANCHESTER
• NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE
• NEWCASTLE-UNDER-LYME
• NORWICH
• NOTTINGHAM
• OXFORD
• PLYMOUTH
• PRESTON
• READING
• SHEFFIELD
• SOUTHAMPTON
• ST ANDREWS
• STIRLING
• STOCKTON-ON-TEES (DURHAM ISC)
• STOKE-ON-TRENT
• WARWICK
• YORK

Like many providers, they focus on the location and then the quality of the building before they take it on in their portfolio. The reason they have got this many is because they have done a very good job of doing the basics very well and making sure students are happy.

Accommodation Review

Within their accommodations, they focus heavily on the design and quality of the rooms and doing the basics really well. In the rooms, they focus on having good space, storage, desk, chair and if you are in an en-suite or studio, a big enough bathroom and kitchen.

When you are sharing you will find that there is an open plan kitchen diner, this is done to save space and open up the communal area in the flat. If they have space, they will also have more social spaces within the accommodation.

They also have very good rent prices, because the accommodation doesn’t contain all the extra fancy bits that some offer, they can make sure the rents are competitive for the location it is in.

In their accommodations, if they have the space they can offer a lot of variety in their rooms, must admit, it can be slightly daunting at times, however, there will be key differences for the room. You might be on a higher floor, have more floor space, en-suite, non-en-suite and it could be a studio. This is good for students, because it meets a lot of peoples requirements.

Finally, what I also like about many of their accommodations and what they do as a company, is that they allow short term stays. This is likely to be over the summer, however, it gives many students the opportunity to book if they don’t have a summer stay.

To show you an example of what comes with each room, this is what you get. This is an example taken from the website and is likely to vary from building to building.

Processes and Systems

This probably the less exciting part of the review, however, it is one that should hold a big weighting in your decision.

Cancellation – If the cancellation is genuine, then the policy is really quite flexible, especially if you give enough time to re-book the room. For example, if you didn’t get the grades, a visa or had to drop out for an extenuating circumstance then they are really helpful. For a genuine cancellation it could cost you nothing, however, if you have decided not to attend or switch to another provider then you could lose your initial payment. If they can fill your room or you have someone else to move in, it could mean losing a small amount of money. However, unless it’s for a genuine reason I think that is completely fair.

Please make sure that you read this before you book!

Booking – This is super simple. Yes, you do need to jump through a few hoops with documentation, however, that will be the same across the board, especially if you need a guarantor. You can book on their website and even set up a viewing on there as well. They have a really good system when it comes to booking and enquiring, I find it simple to use.

They also have plenty of information on the city you are looking at which really helps you when booking.

Communications with students – High, they communicate a massive amount through their accommodation managers and through their events.

Events – They have so many events, they listen to students and then get the events on. That’s all that needs to be said, they have a big schedule. Their accommodation managers should be event managers.

Summary

Homes For Students as a brand and what they have achieved in the short space of time they have been operating is quite remarkable. They have a simple and easy bookings process which is mixed with a lot of information on their pages about the city and surrounding area.

They are well balanced and have plenty of options for students to choose from and they have some very good price points for students. They have don’t necessarily have all the social spaces, however, their rooms are designed to give good social areas with support from their accommodation manager for events and to answer any questions.

I want to see where they are heading after growing so rapidly and excited to watch, as a student would I like to live in one of their properties, yes. For me, I like their rooms, the variety, the price points and locations.

They keep it simple and effective.

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