So Iāve 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 Iāve 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 ādisappointedā she was with my response and that she would be cancelling the exchange, with two days notice no less!
So, if youāve experienced this, do you suck it up and pay? Or decline?
This does have an impact on us members, as Iām unlikely to get another exchange at such short notice and therefore HE will be paying for our accommodation for a weekā¦ This obviously will come out of everyoneās membership fees so is massively frustrating all around.
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 itās a new person who didnāt really know the rules and responded very nicely when you explained this).
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.
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.
Iāve only just joined, but itās so clear that HomeExchange says
You should advertise cleaning fees on your listing
You should make sure they are specifically agreed before the listing is finalised
They should be paid in cash on arrival
Anyone who fails to do this just hasnāt read the HomeExchange conditions properly.
Itās 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
Itād 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 GPās the cleaning fee should be expected since you are not really exchanging homes and in some cases piggybacking another GPās 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 āexpectedā is the wrong word here.
I donāt 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 isnāt 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
If there is a fee announced before the exchange I agree to pay it ( my choice). However I donāt agree with saying ā it should be expectedā. As for ā piggybackingā on another GP arrangement, letās not forget that the host is again receiving points for a second exchange. He can again use those points for a ā fee freeā 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).
Always, always ask what the departure cleaning arrangements are before you finalise. Yes, hosts should be upfront but sometimes itās just not front of mind, and that way you can decide if you want to go ahead.
Given Iām usually saving thousands on an exchange, I would probably just suck it up. The HE max of $120 a night wouldnāt come close to covering hotel costs in the places we visit.
Hi, Iām new to the forum, although Iāve done a lot of swaps. I wanted to tell you whatās happening to me and ask your opinion.
I started an asynchronous reciprocal swap in November between my house in the mountains and a house by the sea. The other party came to me in January and spent their week, a little anxious, but everything went well. We agreed to mutually compensate each other for the cleaning fees and sheets/towels by cleaning each otherās houses. Iāve already booked a Ryanair flight and a rental car, which are non-refundable. Now the other party is reneging on the agreement and is bluntly demanding ā¬120, citing additional costs. What would you do in this situation?
Welcome roberto-72601 on the forum.
Sorry it happens to you.
Is everything written in the HE mail box?
If yes i would immediatly contact HE support to manage this member.
To avoid such a behaviour, it is writen in my listing : "We are happy to treat your home as our own. Therefore, for those who charge a cleaning fee, ours will be equal to yours in order to keep the spirit and the gratuity of the exchange ."
When someone reneges after their stay, itās often because:
ā¢ Theyāre anxious or secondāguessing what they āshouldā have charged.
ā¢ They feel entitled to adjust things once theyāve already received their part.
ā¢ They assume youāll accept it because youāve already booked nonārefundable travel.
There are a few constructive paths forward that donāt involve giving in to the new demand.
Reaffirm the original agreement
A calm, factual message often works best. Something like:
āWe agreed to compensate each other by cleaning each otherās homes, and I upheld that agreement. It doesnāt align with our agreement to ask for additional fees that were never part of our arrangement.ā
This keeps the focus on the facts, not emotions.
Ask them to explain the supposed āadditional costsā
Sometimes simply requesting specifics makes people back down when the demand isnāt legitimate.
Involve Member Support
If they continue insisting on extra money, the platformās Member Support team is there to handle such. Especially since you probably can document the original agreement, the fact that they already stayed and the sudden demand for ā¬120.
Iām quite sure the MS can give support. You donāt have to file a ācomplaintā to begin with, just tell what happened and ask if this is within the terms as it seems not right to you. I would think they would take action as it is not in spirit with the platform. I have raised questions, and MS has answered that they have approached the member and also filed it on their account, if I understood correctly.
Be prepared for the possibility that the exchange may not go ahead. Itās frustrating given your nonārefundable bookings, but itās better to lose a trip than reward behaviour that undermines trust in the community. And Member Support may be able to help you find an alternative if things fall apart.
Be sure to mention in a review so other members are aware that they should be careful on what should be agreed with said member.
Thank you for your answers.
I agree with your analysis. Iād also add that my counterpart contacted me first. Iād addressed all these aspects before finalizing despite her pressure to close. This should have raised my suspicions. Plus, she only had one exchange.
I then responded, citing our agreement and asking for information on these costs. But her response was along these lines: my house isnāt comparable to yours in quality and size (same GP, nice), itās a big house (itās not really), itās difficult for me to wash the sheets and towels (but I bring them from home so I just have to pack them), itās tiring to clean the house (okay, but I do it normally, I did more than 50 exchanges), and I have to make the beds for the next guests (does he take me for his servant?). In short, itās difficult to reason with. Iāve contacted HE twice (on Tuesday with an email and yesterday reporting abuse, as the behavior doesnāt seem at all in line with the HE code of conduct), but so far there hasnāt been a meaningful response.
