How do you handle late requests for cleaning fees on HE?

So I’ve had this twice now, where people have requested I pay cleaning fees for their properties after we have finalised our stay. No fees were referenced when we agreed to stay.

Both times I’ve declined to settle these fees, as we clean the properties ourselves. First time the exchange continued, but the second time the person owning the property messaged to say how ā€œdisappointedā€ she was with my response and that she would be cancelling the exchange, with two days notice no less!

So, if you’ve experienced this, do you suck it up and pay? Or decline?

This does have an impact on us members, as I’m unlikely to get another exchange at such short notice and therefore HE will be paying for our accommodation for a week… This obviously will come out of everyone’s membership fees so is massively frustrating all around.

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I am very sorry this has happened to you.
I have never had this happen to me. I think it would depend on many things if I would pay or not. In any case, I would tell the host that this should be in the home profile and that a fee should be agreed upon before finalising. Any claims they make after that are invalid. However, if people have not been exchanging very long, maybe they missed this part.
Wether I would pay or ot would depend on how long the stay would be, how much they are asking, if it would help me not to be cleaning everything as well as I normally would, etc.
If your host is very disappointed and cancels, you can get the points back, because the host does not have a valid reason to decline you. However, depending on a lot of things, it might not be so easy to find soemthing else. But if you had finalised the exchange and the host backs out for this reason, HE support would help and try to find you another place and help with the costs, if they cannot find a home of HE (as you know and have experienced?). And the home owner should be reported (unless it’s a new person who didn’t really know the rules and responded very nicely when you explained this).

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Argg Im sorry this happened to you. I tend to ask specifically about cleaning fees before closing the exchange, specially if they have fewer reviews or the home is/looks like a rental. I dont mind paying for it, I just want to know what i am agreeing with cause I dont like surprises of this sort. So far never had a problem! Paid for it once but it was said on the profile and I was well aware.

If the amount is abusive I would cancel and also contact HE support. And if I felt like i was being tricked, I wouldnt feel comfortable staying in their place anyways.

Hello Gb199

How upsetting it is.
If fees are not written in the listing, i would contact HE support right away to ask them to contact the host.
Her behaviour is not far from blackmail.

Keep answering with HE emails only so HE can understand the situation.

I’ve only just joined, but it’s so clear that HomeExchange says

  1. You should advertise cleaning fees on your listing
  2. You should make sure they are specifically agreed before the listing is finalised
  3. They should be paid in cash on arrival

Anyone who fails to do this just hasn’t read the HomeExchange conditions properly.

It’s not rocket science. However, thanks for sharing, because if / when I do go somewhere, I will ask them to confirm in advance whether there is a cleaning fee, in case they are an idiot who failed to read the conditions

It’d help if HE will post in bold that no demands (cleaning or otherwise) can be made after a visit is finalized if they were not stated in the house description or mentioned during the exchange of messages. Also, that this cannot be grounds to cancel a visit. Then hosts who do this may think twice.

If the arrangement is based on GP’s the cleaning fee should be expected since you are not really exchanging homes and in some cases piggybacking another GP’s arrangement to follow the one you are agreeing to.

As a long time home exchanger, including many GP stays, I have never (yet) charged cleaning fees myself, and have never been charged so I think ā€˜expected’ is the wrong word here.

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I don’t agree with you here. Guestpoints are earned by hosting members in your own home. It may not be the member whose home your actually staying at but you may have another member in your home that has given you points to enable the exchange. The hosts get points to go to anther home, even if it isn’t yours. I prepare my home at my charge for my guests , whether they are using guestpoints or not. When they arrive they get clean bedsheets which were professionally cleaned, when they leave the sheets are sent to be cleaned and I pay for the service myself. My host charges me a cleaning fee, but maybe they use the points that I give them to go on an exchange where there is no cleaning fee :thinking:
If there is a fee announced before the exchange I agree to pay it ( my choice). However I don’t agree with saying ’ it should be expected’. As for ’ piggybacking’ on another GP arrangement, let’s not forget that the host is again receiving points for a second exchange. He can again use those points for a ’ fee free’ exchange himself. The points cover the cost of preparing a home too for the majority of exchangers. Members asking for a fee are fortunately in the minority.
I consider that if I receive guests for 7 days then I have received points to use myself and to economise 7 nights on a hotel bill. I use the equivalent cost of 1 night in a good hotel to finance welcoming my guests ( cleaning, a welcome gift of wine and basic food such as milk, juice, jam, bread for first breakfast).

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