diff --git a/datasift/__init__.py b/datasift/__init__.py
index 446d7ae..e050fbd 100644
--- a/datasift/__init__.py
+++ b/datasift/__init__.py
@@ -51,7 +51,7 @@
 # Module constants
 # -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 USER_AGENT = 'DataSift/%s Python/' + __version__
-WEBSOCKET_HOST = 'stream.datasift.com'
+WEBSOCKET_HOST = u'stream.datasift.com'
 API_HOST = 'api.datasift.com/'
 
 from datasift.client import Client
diff --git a/datasift/client.py b/datasift/client.py
index e80a42f..d912ce5 100644
--- a/datasift/client.py
+++ b/datasift/client.py
@@ -234,7 +234,7 @@ def _stream(self):  # pragma: no cover
         }
         if self.config.ssl:
             from twisted.internet import ssl
-            options = ssl.optionsForClientTLS(hostname=WEBSOCKET_HOST.decode("utf-8"))
+            options = ssl.optionsForClientTLS(hostname=WEBSOCKET_HOST)
             connectWS(self.factory, options)
         else:
             connectWS(self.factory)