Back to back exchanges - tips?

Hello,

We have done a number of GP and reciprocal exchanges over the past few years but we are about to host our first back to back exchange (one family will be staying one week and another coming for 5 days afterwards). We will be out of town and will not be around to do any welcoming/cleaning. I’m curious to hear others experiences and how you handled all the logistics like changing bedding, welcome gifts etc. What is appropriate to ask of the outgoing family?

Any suggestions would be great!

Hi there. I was recommend by someone with a lot of experience to get a good cleaner to come in between your guests and to make sure they have enough time to organise everything, it takes much longer than you might think.
Even if the house is left in a “good condition” it will need to be thoroughly cleaned again, organised, beds changed and washing done.
Good and reliable cleaning services are very expenses, so if it’s a point exchange it’s totally ok for you to ask for a cleaning fee ( I know some people on this forum hate the idea :wink:). Don’t listen to the hates and do what suits you best.
You can of course ask your friends of guests to prepare the house for your next arrival but I feel like it can get problematic.

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I’ve done back to back swaps in the past where the first family prepared for the second. We all communicated well. If I wanted the first family to change bed, I would do the same in their home, to make sure they didn’t have to do awfully more then we do. I pointed the first family to where there welcoming set was and asked them to put it on our kitchen table. It all worked well and I trust my guests.
However, then I read a couple of topics about this on Facebook and people from HomeExchange warned that if you encounter a problem, and both families say they didn’t cause it, you’ve really got a problem. This summer, we are doing a back to back exchange again and I still trust my guests. However, I am paying the adult daughter of my friend to change the beds, do some chores I’m not sure the guests will do and in general, check the whole home to see if it needs work. I am paying her for this, but I am not charging any of the guests, for it’s my choice to have it checked and my responsibilty to have it cleaned. And i do expect my guests to clean, the daughter is just to make sure.

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I agree with your suggestion but for both reciprocal and guestpoints exchanges, no need to make a difference between them!

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Thanks Orlando for your insight! I agree I think that a cleaner is the easiest and most effective route!

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Thanks, I appreciate the insight. That was also something I was worried about - I don’t love the idea of putting the onus on my guests especially if something is not done it comes back to me. We have a good inexpensive cleaner that we can ask to do some light touch up and changing beds etc.

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I still like to think that people who choose to exchange are respectful people, because travelers will also come to them. We’ve already done back-to-back exchanges and so far haven’t encountered any problems.
Often, discussion allows us to “feel” whether people are ready to make an effort. I also think it’s easier when they’re the ones who have requested the exchange :wink:
We’re lucky in that we don’t make any requests at all. We let ourselves be carried along, most of the time, by the requests. But I know that’s not the case for everyone.