UF law school alumnus Zee Asghar formed an online business to help international students find housing in the U.S.
Homestay Anywhere launched in June and has about 180 registered hosts in eight to 10 states, including popular cities such as Miami and Orlando, Asghar said. His business offers pictures of the rooms along with descriptions and photos of the family living in each house.
“We want to make sure the students know exactly the type of home they’re moving into,” the 33-year-old said.
In 2011, Asghar created his first company, Global Student Housing, where he matched host families with international students.
However, everything was done through phone calls, and the soon-to-be-roommates never directly spoke to each other.
Those experiences led Asghar to create an online-based program where international students could view photos of rooms and get to know potential hosts.
Allison VanDenend, 29, was a host about two years ago through Global Student Housing and he offered a room and bathroom to Tina Chung, an international student from Taiwan.
Chung stayed with her for about eight to 10 weeks while studying at UF’s English Language Institute. VanDenend said there was not a large language barrier, and that she helped Chung learn the bus routes and get acquainted with living in Gainesville.
“I myself studied abroad in undergrad, so I could relate to maybe how she was feeling or what she was experiencing,” she said.
