@Etienne it is not only about the number of users impcated but also on the impact of the feature. As a host with my apartment listed on other platforms (which allows me to cover expenses and provide a 5 stars experience to homexchangers) itās very strefful form me to have to synch manually between platforms. The risk of having someone finalizing a stay on he and booking on another platform is too high, and the impact would be having to cancel the finalized exchange.
As a guest it already happened that we had problems with an exchange in Bali because the host had a last minute booking on airbnb on something so we had to start searching an exchange all over again.
To prioritize a feature in a software team you would take into account
number of users (20% is actually a lot)
impact ā high
esayness if implementation ā this is actually a pretty basic and easy to add feature.
Hopefully the team can tackle it soon!
About this
but adding this feature for me will make more members treating exchanges like rentals, and thatās not what I want personnaly
you can trust us as members that have rentals and know more about that than you that it wont happen
Not all second homes are used for rental. We own two, and neither of them is rented out; we only exchange them or lend them to friends and family when we are not using them. Many of our acquaintances in Catalonia also own a second home, either by the sea or in the mountains.
That said, I strongly support the idea that HE should clearly indicate which homes are used for rental, so they can be filtered out during searches. In most cases, these properties use HE simply to fill gaps between rentals, which means they are rarely available during holiday periods. Typically, you are offered the ski apartment in autumn and the beach apartment in winter. Moreover, they often have poorly equipped kitchens and feel quite impersonal.
The reality is that most homes used for tourist rentals are not meant simply to cover their running costs, but to generate profit. That is why they are often decorated with furniture that looks pleasant yet fairly simple, and kitchens that are equipped with only the bare essentials. They usually lack books and personal belongings, and are kept neutral and impersonal so they can appeal to almost any tourist.
This is perfectly understandable, but it is very different from exchanging a home that is truly lived in. And owning more than one house does not necessarily mean being wealthyācertainly not in our caseānor in our country, where families have traditionally had second homes in rural areas, used for weekends and holidays.
In Spain, as in Italy, there are many areas that have lost population over the past forty years, where buying a home can be very affordable. In fact, in many mountain villages or inland towns, houses are sometimes sold for as little as one euro, provided the buyer commits to restoring them.
Well, actually, sometimes I prefer a host that has a little professional background in hosting, than a total HomeExchange novice.
Why?
Because at least they understand about minimal guestsā comforts and spaces.
At least, I get a little shelving space and not the ownerās underwear hanging on top of my had, something like this actually happened in HomeExchange.
I have made my best traveling connections with hostel owners and professional airbnb hosts , so for me itās not about the level of professionalism.
Even many couchsurfing hosts do both hosting for free on CS and on airbnb, like me.
This doesnāt not mean that I donāt appreciate HomeExchange, I volunteer for this community and I love most aspects of it.
Moreover, everyone can choose in the search results which kind of home they want, if you like to be in an accomodation full of the hostās stuff, you can choose in the filters āfirst homeā.
If this is not enough, you could ask for an extra filter to HE ālisted also professionally/on other platformsā.
This thread isnāt meant to be about rental homes vs non-rental homes, or to reopen that debate. Totally understand people have strong feelings about it, but thatās a bigger topic and probably deserves its own discussion.
Here weāre talking specifically about calendar synchronization, (which now is the 3rd most voted feature) and thatās actually useful even FOR NON RENTAL USERS
Synch with your personal ical / google cal etc.
Helps avoid double bookings between exchanges, friends/family stays, or personal plans
No more manually blocking dates in multiple places
Makes it easier (and faster) to reply to exchange requests with confidence
Reduces last-minute cancellations and awkward misunderstandings
Keeps things fair: accurate calendars benefit everyone, not just renters
Useful if your situation ever changes over time
Gives guests more confidence that dates are really available
So this really isnāt about pushing rentals ā itās about making availability clearer and life easier for everyone.
Nonetheless, the feature will hurt nobody, non rental users included.
Letās keep the conversation focused on the feature itself
I seriously doubt that. HE has a major opportunity in tapping the unused short term rental inventory. They have always been slow to address features and on this one theyād better strike while the iron is hot.
I donāt know what part you are refering too, sorry it was months ago. For what I know, itās still not planned for now.
Donāt forget that the site wants to differ from rental sites in fact, cause some authorities are already confusing the two models and the staff donāt want those confusions to spread more widely ( and the proportion is still quite the same, 75-80% of homes are primary homes).
Hi guys,
Iām reading through this postā¦about Calendar syncing. And some questions ariseā¦
Fairly a newbie, so not yet completely sure how long things take to implement on HE (it seems to be years rather than months for some things like the favorites folders) and what else HE has as a priority now, after the āfavoritesā folders have been doneā¦ Yay!
After reading the comments here, I gather there are two opposing opinions here
What I think I understood is
HE is NOT in favor, as that feature alone could somewhat indicate that HE is the same or alike to ārentalā platforms? Is that true? And how would the Calendar on its own do that?
Members who have secondary residences are much more in favor of calendar syncing, as that would make it seamless
ā¦
I personally found after sending a tons of messages for exchanges, that the calendars that are in the home profiles are often underutilized /not up-to-date. And that alone would be a great improvement, if members would keep them updated. Either with assistance from synched calendar or by getting some form of a reminder email to do so on a regular basis?
A couple of questions that I have:
Please correct me if thatās not so, but if someone doesnāt have their calendar marked at all, their listing is still visible, but just a grey dot on the map? I realized some people are not even aware of the calendar feature and to update it on a regular basis.
How about if they selected that they want to be contacted all year round for potential exchanges? Does that show differently on the map then? And that their calendar is not being marked, does it mean they are somewhat less promoted to visibility?
And one more thing: the format of this forum is a bit confusing for me (Iām on a desktop)
itās a bit of a digging to find some new threads and topicsā¦
Is there a āmanualā for the best utilization of this forum somewhere?
I think that in both situations, the homes show up in grey. I donāt think allowing contact outside available dates shows differently. However, I have been a member for ten years and I am not even sure!
However, I only approach homes that have real availabilty.
I always click on the globe at the top of the page, to the right (next to it are the looking glass, a talk button and your profile icon) and select āEnglish forumā. This just shows you all the topics posted in the English part of the forum, no matter the category.
You can also go to parts that have a different language, for example, in the language thatās being spoken in a place where youād like to go.
Just a reminder that this Forum is not just for members, it is open to all. So you may not want to share your contact information here.
