In early 1998, the Crossroads Housing Network and the Inner South Community Health Centre conducted a major study that explored the extent of family homelessness in Victoria. The study included an analysis of the trend for welfare organisations to place homeless families in private hotels as a form of emergency accommodation. As one component of this work, interviews were undertaken with thirty families who had recently stayed in private hotel accommodation. These interviews, and the subsequent focus groups with welfare practitioners, are drawn on in this article to highlight the limitations of current service provision in regards to family homelessness.