I finalized an agreement some weeks ago. Now the guests are asking to bring additional guests. This makes me uncomfortable. Does anyone have experience with this?
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I don’t have experience with guests asking to bring other persons after the swap is finalised, but I do as a host and a guest have experience in talking about not being certain about how many people will come, and if they/we are okay with that. For example, we agreed in a swap with a family for this summer a long time ago. Beacuse thise year, my husband and I will be married for 25 years, we wanted to bring our children and their partners. At that moment, only one of them had a partner and I asked if it would be okay if the other would bring a partner too, if they got one in the meantime. They haven’t, but if they had, they would have been welcome. It’s very nice if hosts are flexible with such things.
The other family wasn’t sure wether the parents of one of them would come and how long. We kept that open, too.
If I had the room and people asked nicely and explained which persons they were taking, it would be fine with me if we had the capacity.
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Yes this is something that can happen, and personally I have experienced this too. Ultimately the agreement that you have made is for the number of guests agreed to when you finalised the exchange. If you are not comfortable with additional guests in your home then it is completely up to you whether you agree to this or not. After all - this is your home 
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I’m having the same situation right now, I’m asking about it in the chat (with Aria the bot), but I’m getting a response to wait for 2 business days, and with a little pressing a statement that a reply from the Member Support team will come within 2 hours, but they arrive in 2.5 hours!
Anyways
After I decide what to do, I might welcome Forum members’ thoughts on the situation (if I do I will anonymise the communicaiton. (It is in French, but translate within the browser is pretty good!).
In the meantime, here is what the bot has to say:
Aria
Your HomeExchange virtual assistant
Today
Hello! I’m Aria, your Virtual Exchange Assistant, ready to deliver quick and helpful answers whenever you need them. If I don’t have what you’re looking for, I’ll connect you with one of our ambassadors, on chat, or Member Support, who will get back to you over email. How can I help you? 
ME: Hello, a guest whose exchange in our home starts today is informing me that they have added two more people to their party. What are my options?
Hello! If your guest has added more people to their party, you can modify the details of the exchange to reflect the new number of guests. Here’s how you can do it:
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Go to the conversation of the exchange you wish to modify and click on “View the exchange details”.
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Then click on “Modify the exchange”.
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Indicate the new number of guests agreed with your exchange partner and click on “Send request”.
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Your exchange partner will receive an automatic message to confirm whether the exchange request is approved or rejected.
If the request is accepted, the exchange details will be updated. If you have any concerns or need further assistance, feel free to let me know. Would you like to be connected to an agent?
ME: Please answer from the perspective of the host, not the guest.
Thank you for clarifying. As a host, if your guest has added more people to their party, you can request to modify the details of the exchange to reflect the new number of guests. Here’s how you can proceed:
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Go to the conversation of the exchange you wish to modify and click on “View the exchange details”.
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Then click on “Modify the exchange”.
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Indicate the new number of guests agreed with your exchange partner and click on “Send request”.
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Your exchange partner will receive an automatic message to confirm whether the exchange request is approved or rejected.
If the request is accepted, the exchange details will be updated. If you have any concerns or need further assistance, feel free to let me know. Would you like to be connected to an agent?
ME: Yes, please connect me to an agent
Thank you for your request. A human agent is available to assist you right now. Let me connect you.
I am sorry, but no ambassador is available at the moment. I will send your request to our Member Support Team instead.
Could you please specify the nature of your request so that our team can provide you with effective assistance?
Hello, a guest whose exchange in our home starts today is informing me that they have added two more people to their party. What are my options?
Before I proceed, could you please give me your email address? If you have a HomeExchange account, please use the email linked to it.
ME: m*****@gmail.com
Thank you! They will reply to you by email within 2 business days 
ME: No, I need help now please. The exchange starts today.
In order to help, I need to forward your request to our Member Support team for further assistance. They will be in touch over email as soon as possible. Our Member Support team are always monitoring emergency emails 24 hours a day and will get back to you very quickly.
Can you confirm if your request is related to an ongoing exchange or an exchange starting in the next 7 days?
ME: Yes
Thank you! I sent your request to our Member Support Team. They will reply to you by email within 2 hours
ME: If a guest tries to change the finalised agreement on the day that the exchange starts, can the host cancel the exchange? Can the host insist that no more people can be added to the party staying? Whilst a secondary issue, what are the GuestPoint implications?
If a guest tries to change the finalized agreement on the day the exchange starts, as a host, you have the option to cancel the exchange if necessary. It’s important to discuss any changes with your guest to find a solution. If you decide to cancel, you can do so by going to your conversation with your exchange partner and clicking on “Modify the exchange details,” then selecting “Cancel the exchange.” Regarding the GuestPoints:
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If you cancel the exchange as a host, the GuestPoints will automatically be returned to your guest.
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If the guest requests an increase in the number of nights or guests, the corresponding GuestPoints/night will be transferred to you as the host. If the guest does not have enough GuestPoints, they will be offered the option to purchase the necessary GuestPoints.
For more detailed information, you can refer to this article. If you need further assistance, would you like to be connected to an agent?
Message from Aria: If a guest tries to change the finalized agreement on the day the exchange starts, as a host, you have the option to cancel the exchange if necessary. It’s important to discuss any changes with your guest to find a solution. If you decide to cancel, you can do so by going to your conversation with your exchange partner and clicking on “Modify the exchange details,” then selecting “Cancel the exchange.” Regarding the GuestPoints: - If you cancel the exchange as a host, the GuestPoints will automatically be returned to your guest. - If the guest requests an increase in the number of nights or guests, the corresponding GuestPoints/night will be transferred to you as the host. If the guest does not have enough GuestPoints, they will be offered the option to purchase the necessary GuestPoints. For more detailed information, you can refer to this article. If you need further assistance, would you like to be connected to an agent?
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We do it all the time as guests.
As we contact hosts almost one year in advance, i put the maximum number of guests in the request.
Then we present the family members and we explain that my mother in law or sister in law or friend may join us.
If they don’t , it is easier to explain that finally we shall be 3 and not 4.
On our side, as hosts, we do accept up to our maximum number of beds.
We prefer to have things done officially on HE. It avoids unregistered guests.
3 Likes
Yes I think it is easier when you start off with more guests and reduce the numbers, than the other way around.
1 Like
I have direct experience as a guilty party !! As often thé place we book has more than one room I have asked if I can add my daughter to the exchange so far there has been no issue. We are booked to go to Portugal next year and there is room for 4. I will of course always be upfront and respectful when asking to expand the booking however I don’t see why there is a problem if the accommodation has the space… I have no problem with people making a request to change… this week it was to bring a small dog . As long as people are being clear then why not ?