Hello community, Iām interested to know what your expectations are around Guestpoints swaps with regard to communications. I did a lot of mutual exchanges a few years ago, and it always felt like weād established a bit of rapport before the swap. During the stay there would always be a few emails & chat backwards and forwards. I wonder if this has changed with Guestpoints? Iām increasingly seeing people asking to ābookā and ācheck inā which makes me feel a bit like this has become much more transactional and less personalised? Itās making me feel a bit negative, more like I am hosting strangers in my home. Am I being a bit unreasonable and should I expect this to be more like an Airbnb booking? It feels weird to give folk I really donāt know access to my home & personal things. Would love to hear some views!
I think ultimately it can depend on the person. Some are more vocal and communicate thoroughly before an exchange, whereas others may be a bit more shy (or busy perhaps). Communication however is key with a successful home exchange, and I would always recommend a chat via the phone or video call before finalising - just to check you are both on the same page.
Hello AnnetteS
If you donāt feel confortable with GPs you may try to do a mix solution.
In your calendar, you can open the dates with āreciprocical exchangeā and when you send a request, you can offer a simultaneous or non simultaneous or GP exchange.
It works for me so far.
I donāt want to receive any GP requests but i always propose the 3 possibilities to my futur hosts.
HE fights hard against the rental vocabulary but itās hiding behind oneās little finger.
Instead of going to a place for $ā¬ , we go for GPs and the host donāt come to our place.
For the communication, as far as i am concerned, on the whole, communication with GP guests is dryer. However i had a few nice guests. The main point are the house rules, cleanliness and time of arrival and departure.
A good point with GP guests and non simultaneous exchanges is that you can meet your guests if you are not far.
The hardest part of GP guests to me is the review. There is much less to say compared to a reciprocical exchange. I talk about the cleanliness and if the guest was respectful.
I think sometimes once you open the discussion as a host with GP people assume you will accept them so some do not try so hard. Some yes you on anything you say they must do. This does make the conversation less personal. I think the less certain you make the first reply the more you might get from people. Some people do drop off when you ask them who is coming ect because they want more of a ābookingā experience.
Thanks for your reply. I think I agree that Iāll likely not do the GP swaps in the future - ādryā is a good word. Not rude but not friendly!
@cafrobose yes I agree this is a good idea. I probably should also do video or phone calls with people going forwards to make a better connection I think.
I had request where when I added up the party it was too many for the beds even though they only requested for my max. I donāt mind GP exchanges but you may have to draw people out a little. I usually start with making sure they understand my house which is a bit of a non-traditional layout and the area. those are good topics.