💥 A new method for calculating GuestPoints awarded to homes is coming soon

[Melissa.HomeExchange]

The calculation for how GuestPoints are attributed to homes will soon change - so it is essential that you review your home information now. We’ll explain everything…

Once upon a time there were GuestPoints…

As you know, GuestPoints were born from a simple idea: to make sharing possible, everywhere, between everyone, by enabling non-reciprocal exchanges.

GuestPoints allow us to travel even when there is no immediate reciprocity: we host a member in our home, they give us GuestPoints, and we in turn stay at another member’s place.

The result: more freedom, more possibilities. Today, 3 out of 4 exchanges are made possible thanks to GuestPoints.

What makes GuestPoints unique?

GuestPoints are much more than a “points system”. They reflect our values and beliefs:

An inclusive model: every member, wherever they are, whatever their home is like, can exchange with any other member.

A non-monetary system: at HomeExchange, there are no financial incentives - just the pleasure of sharing.

Fair travel: every home’s GuestPoints are based on practical criteria: location, capacity and amenities.

A new calculation method for greater consistency

It was by reading your feedback, here and elsewhere, that we began to reflect on our current algorithm, and realized it could be improved. We wanted to align with the values and beliefs that we uphold at HomeExchange (mentioned above), and to which we know you are also attached. You prove this to us every day in your comments and testimonials.

What will change?

Starting from December 2nd, a new calculation method will be introduced to assess every home in our community. The goal behind this new calculation is simple: we want a more consistent calculation, in the interest of all HomeExchangers.

In line with your feedback, the new calculation will better take into account the following elements:

The location of the home: the popularity of large cities of international significance will now be reflected. Downtown apartments, which were sometimes attributed less GuestPoints, will be reassessed. This will be automatically calculated by your zip code and your home’s location will no longer be self-declared.

Capacity: here too, we have listened to you. The number of beds considered in the calculation will now be limited according to the size of your home, making the system fairer for the whole community.

Amenities: eco-responsible choices (bicycles, electric charging stations), comfort and “little extras” (elevator, swimming pool, etc.) will be taken into account more, as will the willingness to accommodate pets and children.

A change that affects the entire community

This update will apply to all homes on the platform. Each member’s home will be re-calculated, so is is possible your GuestPoints per night will be adjusted.

As you will appreciate, this is a collective change, aimed at fostering greater consistency, fairness and trust within our community.

Update your home’s information now

To ensure that this new system best reflects the appeal of your home, I’d like to invite you to review all the information in your listing and complete it if necessary, in order to benefit from the most accurate calculation. Here is a short list of points to check:

Check the size of your home.

Add any amenities that have recently been introduced, and remove those that are no longer relevant.

Indicate whether you offer eco-friendly options (bicycles, electric charging stations etc).

Specify whether your property is suitable for children or pets.

Our Member Support Team will be at your disposal when the time comes

If, on the day, you notice an anomaly or have questions about the new calculation for your home, please contact Member Support directly: individual questions will not be answered here.

It’s up to you

Remember that the GuestPoints system works because GuestPoints are not a currency: they cannot be used to “buy” a night or a stay. GuestPoints make something much more valuable and intangible possible: namely amazing exchanges, facilitated by a common tool based on trust - which is something you do all year round.

And you have made this wonderful way of traveling your own.

[PeterK]

I don’t get why guest points can’t just be left to the homeowner. There are so many things an algorithm can’t judge - quirkiness, originality, coziness, furnishings, the feel of the area, convenience… it all needs a human touch. Also, the popularity of the city/area. Everyone wants to visit New York for example. Where I live in the UK is nowhere near as popular.

And if you really have to set a limit, it should be much higher. If someone sets their GPs too high they won’t get many/any enquiries, or the feedback will say it all. Just let people decide for themselves!

[Nathalie1]

Hello PeterK

The answer is that GP left at the owner’s hand could be considered as a benefit in kind and therefore taxable and comparable to rental.

And in many cities, short term rentals is strictly limited or forbidden.

Homeexchange is working hard not to be confused with rentals.

And the GPs are at the limit of a taxable point of view and rental regulations.

[PeterK]

Hey Nathalie

Thank you for the explanation. I understand the concerns regarding taxation and short-term rental regulations. And I love that there’s no money involved. But why would allowing homeowners more flexibility with GuestPoint, change the legal interpretation? As HomeExchange already sets a GP value for each home, it’s not obvious why an adjustment by the owner would be considered a taxable benefit?

I was looking at a small, but very beautiful, apartment in the historic centre of Florence. Much better for me than a five bedroom house on the outskirts! They have had to add in the description that it’s 250 GP a night because the maximum allowed for their apartment is 140 GP!

In some cases the standard GP value doesn’t reflect the home at all, so a bit of flexibility could be very helpful for members.

[Nathalie1]

This is strictly forbidden on HE.

Members can ask for a minimum number of nights to get a minimum number of GPs but clearly this member does not understand what is exchanging homes and how it works.

A new GPs calculation method should be put into production the first week of December to correct the anomaly you describe.

You can check the listing mid december to see if the number of GPs has increased.

[PeterK]

Ok - thanks for taking the time to respond, it’s much appreciated.

Warm regards

Peter

[Hazel]

I am concerned about the use of zip codes (post codes in the UK) to assess the proximity to a place of interest because I don’t imagine it can take into account public transport. We live in the London commuter belt, right by a train station that can take you to the city centre in 30 minutes - so we are currently in the category or “Less than 30 mins from a world famous area”. If the zip code is used to calculate driving time to the centre of London it will be very long - but nobody in their right mind would go by car. Since Home Exchange promotes the use of public transport this is particularly important in the new assessment of GP ratings. Our current rating is already on the low side so we have to work hard to earn enough points to travel - if it gets much lower we will have to seriously reconsider our membership.

[DavidAJM]

If you increase points on many homes, the value of existing points will be eroded. Are you dropping the points for non-prime homes to balance this?

I’ve shared my city apartment for 300 nights over the last few years. I expected to be able to exchange the points for approximately 300 nights in other city locations.

[DavidAJM]

Any change to points earning rate impacts the value of existing points balances. Therefore any such change should be implemented gradually, perhaps over 2 years.

Also, in fairness, existing balances should be adjusted. If for example, 50% of homes will now require 10% more points, you should increase all current balances by 5%.

[illopart]

@DavidAJM You’re absolutely right! I hope HE takes it into account! Maybe you should present it as a suggestion that can be voted on

[sarah-navin]

@Melissa.HomeExchange

The calculation for how GuestPoints …

With the upcoming change to the GuestPoints calculation on December 2nd, could you explain in detail how the new algorithm will determine a home’s GuestPoints value, what specific criteria will weigh more or less compared to the previous model, and whether members need to update anything in their home profiles to ensure an accurate assessment?

[PeterK]

Perhaps using two separate measures would be a better approach - one for ‘public transport time’ and another for ‘walking time’ at a higher guest-points level. After all, most people would prefer a short walk over a public-transport commute. Similarly, a 30-minute tube ride is certainly more appealing than an hour underground. At the same time, some of the real gems are outside the city centres.. more peaceful and genuinely local.

I (kind of) understand why owners can’t simply set their own GPs (within reason), but it’s a shame as this approach would solve all the issues.

[canuck]

The changes in the guest point calculation that involve location are described as follows:

The location of the home: the popularity of large cities of international significance will now be reflected. Downtown apartments, which were sometimes attributed less GuestPoints, will be reassessed. This will be automatically calculated by your zip code and your home’s location will no longer be self-declared.

The problem I have with this is the use of the term “popularity of large cities of international significance”. How is “popularity” determined and quantified? Is it simply an opinion or guesstimate of one or more of the HE support team members, or has there been a serious in-depth analysis of global tourism data from reputable sources?
Also, why are only “large cities” considered most desirable? Are you saying that a large, luxurious house right on the beach of the French or Italian Riviera near a small or mid-size city or town such as Menton or Antibes with excellent public transportation connections is not “most desirable”? I can tell you with absolute certainty from personal experience that it is more difficult to find an exchange at a location such as these than it is in Paris, London, or New York; because I have explored all of these places via Home Exchange.

How about using your own data to determine desirability of a location? The platform already has years of data from hundreds of thousands of members and millions of exchanges at different locations around the world.

A simple way of using this data to assess the popularity of a destination, for example Paris, would be:

X = number of HE listings
Y = the total number of days of guest visits
Z (popularity of Paris) = Y / X (total days of visits divided by total number of listings)

In this way, the important number is not simply the gross number of visitors, because big cities will obviously have more visitors than small cities, but the RATIO of number of visitors to the available supply of hosts.

Therefore, smaller but still highly desirable locations will not be discriminated against in the algorithm. For example, there are currently 7538 listings in Paris and 63 in Menton. I don’t know how many Home Exchange guest-days there were in the past year to each city, but using the estimate of 100,000 for Paris and 1,000 for Menton, my formula would calculate the following location scores for each place (rounded to nearest unit)…

Paris = 13
Menton = 16

In this scenario, Menton is actually more popular on a “per-capita” basis.
Of course, I am only guessing at the actual data for numbers of guest-nights for each place, but my point is that the important value for calculating the desirability of a location is the ratio of number of guests compared to the guest capacity of a place. It is not simply the gross number of visitors per year to a location.

[Porky]

Hi everybody, I have just consulted the new GuestPoint value of my flat in Berlin, and I was quite taken aback to see that it has been valued at 311 points (I have been offering it at 140 due to the huge number of members in our immediate area - currently around 500 - and the relative low amount of requests during the past 6 months or so). It goes without saying that I would appreciate more points, but I am also worried that my flat is grossly over-valued and that I will receive no requests at all. And I love requests as much as I like points! What to do? I have shifted up to 180 points but still… what do you think?
Best,
Lia

[davidsasson212]

I have the same issue, it raised the value of my house 100 points I suppose because we are next to NYC. But now the range that I can put my house at is just so large, I don’t know what I’m supposed to do with it?

[Porky]

Well I’ve just checked on the houses in my area, and despite our central location in Berlin, they are practically all offering their flats at low GP rates. If I apply the new GuestPoint value, I’ll never get any requests at all. Another point is: many members have not yet collected sufficent GuestPoints to suddently be confronted with such high rates. If flats like ours (a very nice and spacious flat, but not mind-shattering either) are now suddenly worth 300 GP, we will never “afford” to go anywhere ever again. It’s complex!

[PeterK]

I’m happy with the change. I think my GuestPoints are now much closer to where they should be. Previously, my recommended amount was 55 with a maximum of 89, and I always felt I was getting a bit of a bad deal at those levels. Now the recommendation is 145, with a maximum of 175. I’ll keep it at 145 for now, as that seems fair, and see how things go.

[illopart]

From what I’ve seen, many of us have had our homes revalued, meaning that traveling to other homes — which have likely also increased their GP — will ultimately require spending a similar amount of points. However, all the points we had accumulated until now have lost value, since home valuations in GP have gone up.

Therefore, if HE doesn’t introduce some kind of compensation mechanism that adds points to each user proportionally to what they had saved, in order to offset this inflation, they will effectively be taking points away from those of us who had been saving for future exchanges.

[Bastien]

@illopart

Therefore, if HE doesn’t introduce some kind of compensation mechanism that adds points to each user proportionally to what they had saved, in order to offset this inflation, they will effectively be taking points away from those of us who had been saving for future exchanges.

Hear hear !

We’ve been saving up GuestPoints for a family holiday in 2026, and now we see our GuestPoints capital significantly devaluated due to this decision.

It feels fundamentally unfair ! A compensation would be appreciated.

Bastien