Sharing is caring: a micro-level analysis of domestic hospitality for displaced Ukrainians in Belgium and Switzerland

<p>To lodge displaced people from Ukraine, national authorities in Europe turned to homestay accommodation to expand reception capacity. This paper adopts a micro-level approach to examine the experiences of local hosts in Belgium and Switzerland using a sequential explanatory mixed-methods design. Quantitative analysis of 754 survey responses revealed both positive experiences and key challenges, including difficulties with rule-making, intercultural communication, and psychological strain. Follow-up qualitative analysis, based on 58 in-depth interviews with local hosts, provided narrative insights into the most influential determinants and identified three hosting trajectories: harmonious cohabitation, gradual fatigue and exhaustion, and dysfunctional coexistence. Our findings show that homestay accommodation can foster meaningful connections and positive intergroup interactions when supported by a welcoming institutional framework, while also highlighting the temporal dynamics of hosting. Overall, the study underscores the importance of attending to ‘micro-moves’ in everyday humanitarian practices, and the need to re-politicize domestic hospitality within a multi-level governance framework.</p>