Frequently asked questions

myHospi is a Dutch platform for student housing where room seekers and student houses with an available room meet each other. Seekers create a profile, browse available rooms in cities across the Netherlands and send their profile to the houses they like. Houses receive these complete profiles in a single overview, filter by age, gender, study phase or association, and invite their favourites to a hospiteer evening. After the hospiteer evening the current housemates choose their new roommate together. myHospi is free to use and is available as a mobile app (iOS and Android) and as a website.

If the myHospi app freezes or does not work properly, first check that you have a stable internet connection. If the connection is fine, fully close the app and log in again. If the problem continues, you may be running an outdated version: delete the myHospi app from your device and reinstall it from the App Store or Google Play. If it still does not work, email [email protected] with a description of the issue and your device type.

Emails from myHospi sometimes end up in your spam folder. First check the spam folder for messages from [email protected]. If you cannot find the email there, use the 'Reset password' option to request a new email. If you still have not received anything after 10 minutes, send an email to [email protected] so we can investigate.

In the myHospi chat, the checkmarks next to your message show the delivery status. One checkmark means your message has been sent successfully. Two checkmarks mean the recipient has opened and read your message. This works the same way as in most modern messaging apps.

You can delete your myHospi account yourself via the app. Open the app, go to Settings and choose 'Delete account'. Your profile, responses, chats and listings are then permanently removed, in line with our privacy policy. If you cannot log in to delete your account, email [email protected] from the email address that is linked to your account.

Hospiteren is a Dutch tradition in which a student house selects its new housemate by inviting candidates for an evening at the house, called a 'hospiteeravond'. During this evening the current housemates and the candidates meet, talk, eat or drink together and see whether they click. After the evening the housemates vote together on who they would most like to live with. Hospiteren is common in student houses across the Netherlands and exists because housemates choose each other as a group, rather than a landlord deciding who moves in.

A hospiteeravond is an evening at the student house where multiple candidates are invited, usually one after another or in small groups. Each candidate typically spends 15 to 45 minutes at the house: you introduce yourself, get a tour of the room and common areas, and have a casual conversation over a drink or snack. The housemates look primarily at whether you fit the group, not just at your CV. After all candidates have visited, the housemates deliberate and invite their favourite candidate to become the new housemate.

At a hospiteer evening you can expect an informal atmosphere with questions about who you are, what you study, your hobbies, why you want to live in this specific house and how you deal with communal living, cleaning and parties. The housemates usually show you the room, kitchen and common areas. There is often a drink, a snack or a simple game. The goal is to see whether there is a personal click, so it feels more like a conversation than a job interview. It is normal to meet 3 to 10 other candidates on the same evening.

To prepare for a hospiteer evening, read the house's profile on myHospi carefully so you know the vibe, the association (if any) and the house rules. Prepare a short personal introduction (name, study, why this house appeals to you) and have two or three questions ready for the housemates — for example about chores, activities or how housemates are usually picked. Dress informally but neatly, arrive on time, and consider bringing something small to share like a bag of snacks; it is appreciated though not required.

A hospiteer evening usually lasts 1 to 3 hours in total, but as a candidate you typically spend 15 to 45 minutes at the house. The exact duration depends on how many candidates are invited and how the house runs the evening — some plan short back-to-back slots, others prefer a longer group setting over dinner. You normally hear within a few days, sometimes the same evening, whether you have been chosen or invited for a follow-up round.

A Dutch student house typically invites 5 to 15 candidates to a single hospiteer evening, selected from all the profiles they received. Larger or well-known houses sometimes invite up to 20 candidates, while smaller houses may pick only 3 to 5. Because of the ongoing housing shortage in the Netherlands, most houses receive dozens of responses per available room and can be selective about who they invite. Being invited in the first place already means the housemates saw something in your profile.

For student houses, myHospi replaces the flood of emails you usually receive when a room becomes available. Instead of loose emails you receive full candidate profiles through the app, which you can filter by age, gender, study phase and association. You like the candidates you want to meet, invite your favourites to a hospiteer evening with a single bulk message and chat with them inside the app. To attract candidates you share a link to your house (for example in a Facebook group); this link is available under 'Share room' in the app settings or on the website once you are logged in. myHospi is free for student houses.

Yes, even if you have already received emails about your available room, you can still use myHospi to get a clear overview of all candidates. Reply to the people who emailed you and ask them to also create a profile on myHospi — a small effort that gives you much better information. You can also paste your myHospi link directly into the Facebook post or group message about your room. This way you collect all candidate profiles in one place and have a handy, personal overview of everyone coming to your hospiteer evening.

Yes, myHospi is free for both room seekers and student houses. Creating a profile, listing a room, responding to rooms, chatting with candidates, inviting people to a hospiteer evening and managing responses are all free of charge. We believe students should not have to pay to find a new housemate or a new room. An optional Premium subscription is available for seekers who want extra features such as higher response limits, but the core platform is free.

Yes, myHospi includes a built-in chat for student houses to message candidates. You can start a chat with a candidate as soon as you have invited them to your hospiteer evening. The chat is useful for extra details that did not fit in the invitation — such as the exact address, what to bring or a change in time — and for answering last-minute questions. All communication runs through the app, so candidates' phone numbers stay private until they choose to share them.

Yes, on myHospi you can invite all liked candidates in one go with a single bulk message. From the 'liked people' folder in the app you write one invitation message with the details of the hospiteer evening and send it to all selected candidates at the same time. They can confirm or decline immediately. You can also send a single bulk message from the 'rejected' folder to politely inform candidates who did not make the cut — good etiquette means letting everyone know where they stand.

Yes, invited candidates can confirm their attendance directly in the myHospi app. As a student house you see an overview of confirmed, declined and pending responses in the 'Invited' folder. If some candidates have not responded yet, you can send them a reminder with one tap via the notification button in that folder. This way you know exactly how many people to expect on the hospiteer evening.

If you are getting few responses on myHospi, the most common cause is that room seekers cannot find your listing. The fix is to actively share the link to your room — for example in a relevant Facebook group for your city or student association. You can copy your room link in the myHospi app under 'Copy link' or find it on the website after logging in. As soon as seekers open the link they can respond directly through myHospi, and the number of profiles usually rises within days.

To invite candidates via myHospi, first like the profiles you find interesting. A like on its own is not yet an invitation. To send real invitations, open your folders in the app, create a hospiteer round (date, time, location), write an invitation message and send it to your liked candidates. The invitation is delivered as an in-app notification and chat message, and candidates can immediately confirm or decline.

A like on myHospi marks a candidate as interesting, but it does not send them anything — it is only visible to you. To continue, open your folders in the app, create a hospiteer round with date, time and location, write a short invitation message and send the invitation to your liked candidates. Only at that moment does the candidate receive an actual invitation for the hospiteer evening.

Yes, myHospi supports multiple hospiteer rounds, so houses that invite candidates in several time slots can use the app without workarounds. From the 'liked' folder you create multiple rounds, each with its own date and time, and invite different candidates to each round. In the 'invited' folder you then see a clear overview of exactly who is expected at which moment.

After the hospiteer evening you can use myHospi to communicate the outcome. Send the chosen candidate a private chat message (or call them using the phone number in their profile) to officially offer them the room and arrange the contract. For the other candidates you can send a single bulk message — for example to everyone who attended — thanking them for coming. A short personal reply is appreciated and makes candidates more positive about your house in future rounds.

If you have previously offered a room on myHospi you have two options. You can create a completely new listing, or you can reset the existing one. To reset, go to your house in the app and tap the three dots in the top right to choose 'Reset house'. A reset clears the old responses, votes and hospiteer rounds while keeping the house details, so you can immediately start a new round. Which option is best depends on whether the room or house details have changed significantly.

If you forgot to mention something in your hospiteer invitation, you can easily follow up via the myHospi chat. You can chat with individual candidates or send a single message to an entire category at once — for example all invited candidates. This lets you add extra details (exact address, what to bring, a time change) without having to cancel and resend the original invitation.

Yes, myHospi is free for both room seekers and student houses. Creating a profile, listing a room, responding to rooms, chatting with candidates, inviting people to a hospiteer evening and managing responses are all free of charge. We believe students should not have to pay to find a new housemate or a new room. An optional Premium subscription is available for seekers who want extra features such as higher response limits, but the core platform is free.

On myHospi you can only chat with a student house after they have invited you to their hospiteer evening. This is a deliberate choice: it prevents houses from being flooded with messages and means every chat is with a candidate they are actually interested in. Until you have been invited, you communicate with the house by sending your profile — including your introduction message — from the room listing.

If you are not being invited to hospiteer evenings and not hearing back, it is usually not personal. The housing shortage in the Netherlands is severe, so student houses often receive dozens of profiles per available room and cannot reply individually to everyone. Keep going — persistence pays off in this market. To improve your chances, tailor each response to the specific house, fill out your myHospi profile completely (photo, about, study, hobbies) and respond quickly when new rooms appear.

To send your profile to a house on myHospi, open the room listing and tap 'Send profile'. You can then write a personal message to the housemates. It is strongly recommended to personalise this message for each house — mention something specific from their listing, explain why you would fit in and what you are looking for — because houses receive many responses and prioritise candidates who clearly made an effort. A personalised message significantly increases your chance of being invited to a hospiteer evening.

All invitations for hospiteer evenings on myHospi are delivered in your chat. When a house invites you, an invitation message from that house appears in your chat with the date, time and location. You can confirm or decline directly from the chat. If you are expecting an invitation but do not see it, check your chat inbox and make sure push notifications are enabled on your device.