Iâve been a member of HE for 7 years and for the most part Iâve truly enjoyed it.
But something has changed in the last 1-2 years, perhaps due to increase in membership. I live in a highly desirable destination (San Francisco) and until recently when I was able to respond positively to a message, weâd exchange a few emails answering questions, perhaps do a quick WhatsApp call, and the visit would get approved.
But recently each and every time I respond positively, the guest has already found another place. Messages, usually from Europe, tend to arrive in the middle of the night local time, and I respond as soon as I check my email in the morning, so within 2-6 hours after the message was sent. Yet, each time theyâve already found a place. My home is attractive, and the cost of 130 GP is certainly reasonable for a couple or a single traveler. So the issue is not in my posting, nor in my response time. It seems that perhaps there are commercial interests, who pay someone to stay on top of early AM messages and respond as soon as they pop up.
I canât think of any other explanation. Thoughts anyone?
Are people experiencing a similar trend elsewhere?
Can HE do anything about it?
Hi Micha! Iâm sorry to hear that youâve had this experience⊠I personally havenât had this issue so Iâd be curious to hear what othersâ experiences with this are!
Maybe there are more members in your area now, so more âcompetitionâ.
nothing to worry about. its just many other people around you,that may suit your guests more.Personally as a guest,i take my time to decide to which place ill go,maybe others finalise the same time!
Would be interesting to hear from more people, but to clarify my main point: only 3-4 hours after the message from the guest was sent, and when itâs just 9-10 AM local time, Iâm told on each occasion that the guest has already found another home. In the past year this has been constant.
I wonder if it turns out that very few properties are getting the bulk of hosting in San Francisco because a professional outfit has staff tasked with responding to HE queries immediately, even when they arrive in the early AM hours.
Probably you are receiving requests from members who have sent numerous requests in the previous days. It could happen that they receive a positive reply a couple of hours after they write to you.
I have no issue with sending out many requests â I do it myself. But I think you should encourage people not to do it automatically but to bother to take a minute and look at home descriptions - mine states clearly at the top a minimum number of days, and maximum number of guests, and I still get requests that obviously donât qualify. I imagine thatâs one reason hosts donât bother to respond (though I still do, within 12 hours).
As to your suggestion: âI suspect that you have simply been unlucky to have received so many requests that are then withdrawn within a day.â
Having been a member for 7 years Iâve seen the ebb and flow of requests. I wouldnât have made my comment unless I noticed a pattern. I wish someone would contact me directly to discuss how we can verify this because if this pattern is real (and it can easily have monetary motives fueling it), it hurts not only a few members but the entire Home Exchange model. Itâd be easy to investigate by contacting a few guests.
The HE algorithm tries to please everyone. As a result we get several erroneous requests a week even though our home profile includes caring for a cat and states that the exchange be reciprocal for 3 weeks minimum.
Including cat care and 3 weeks of exchange time seems out of reach for the HE algorithm.
Perhaps folks do a reverse search and send a repeat request message to every home in the city of their choice.
Hello,
I have had similar experiences. Like you, Iâve noticed this trend only recently. What I find especially disturbing is the abrupt end to the conversation. No response as to why they are no longer communicating. I canât believe that some members could possibly be so rude. I suspected instead some compromise in the message system.
Dan
Hi, new member with similar experiences. We have a home in a very popular area (Sardinia, IT). We are flooded with requests that we try to answer as best as we can. Regardless of whether we give a positive or negative reply, in about 50% of the exchanges the conversation ends abruptly after our first response. Had this with about 10 people now in the course of a week. I donât think our replies are unpleasant, and I cannot imagine that so many community members are that rude. Are you sure there is nothing wrong in the messaging system?
Malheureusement si ! Je constate la mĂȘme chose que vous et je pense que cela reflĂšte une impolitesse de plus en plus gĂ©nĂ©ralisĂ©e.
Câest bien dommage. Et moi qui fais des Ă©changes depuis plus de dix ans, jâai vu, au fil des annĂ©es, le climat amical du dĂ©but se dĂ©grader. Depuis quelques temps maintenant les gens gĂšrent leur logement comme sur la plateforme airbnb et vous constaterez dans un trĂšs grand nombre de profil le terme de âclientâ est employĂ©. Jâai vu rĂ©cemment Ă plusieurs reprises des expressions telles que âĂ©change contre prestations Ă©quivalentesâ ! On est bien loin de lâesprit de homeexchange ! La plateforme homeexchange a-t-elle les moyens de freiner ce dĂ©rapage ?
Barbara