7月11日，北京市旅游局在西城区举行了“奥运人家”授牌仪式。奥运期间，全市将有 598户普通市民获准接待海外游客，与他们一起共享奥运所带来的欢乐。奥运会期间全市的598户不同类型的“奥运人家”，将让海外游客感受到古老北京的现代时尚的同时，也体验到北京百姓家庭的温馨和谐。

请看中国日报网站的消息：

598 "Olympic Home-stay Families" were carefully selected from more than 1,100 applicants according to the conditions of their houses and foreign-language skills.

根据房屋条件及主人的外语技能，1100个申请家庭中有598户被选中作为“奥运人家”。

All home-stay guests should live in groups, and travel agencies from the United States, Japan, Canada and Chile have shown strong interest in the program。

所有选择家庭住宿的游客都要集体入住，而美国、日本、加拿大以及智利的旅行社都纷纷对该计划表现出了极大的兴趣。

上述报道中，Olympic Home-stay Families就是“奥运人家”的英文表达方式， homestay means that the traveler lives with a family rather than in a hotel for at least part of his or her trip，也就是我们常说的“家庭住宿”。住在“奥运人家”的客人叫做home-stay guest，而接待客人的这个家庭就叫做host family。