Today, I wanted to share Johanne’s words with you, in response to a question from a recently registered HomeExchange member. I think her reply perfectly captures the spirit of the community, and because HomeExchange is best described by its members themselves 
“Since it was your very first exchange, I just wanted to share a little bit of feedback: keep in mind that a home exchange is not like renting an Airbnb. Every family is different, every home has its own style, its own habits… and that’s exactly what makes exchanges so enriching.
What matters most is kindness and tolerance. You can’t expect everything to be like it is at home. We all have different ways of living, communicating, and cleaning. Personally, I always give 5 stars, even if it’s not exactly my ideal — because I know that I’m not everyone’s idea of ‘perfect’ either. (I’ve never had a terrible or horrible exchange, by the way — I think those are very, very rare).
But I always welcome others sincerely, and I’m always grateful for what I experience thanks to this wonderful community. And it’s the same with my hosts and guests.
So basically, stay cool and open-minded — that’s the secret to longevity on the site 
”
– Johanne
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We rely on the ratings home exchange to be genuine so we know what to expect. I would hope that it is not the norm for members to always give 5 stars no matter what the experience is like.
Personally, I would eliminate the stars and leave only the comments. Stars nowadays don’t mean anything. And when you leave anything below 5, you find that the other party gets offended. It’s happened to me: I gave 4 stars for cleanliness, and the family told me to change it or they’d use their right to reply to say that my house was dirty and in bad condition! I had to send them the photos I had taken of their dirt and damage to make them understand that I had actually been extremely generous in giving them 4 stars.
But it’s ridiculous to have to take photos of the places you go to or how they leave your house just to cover yourself. In the past, on other websites without stars, this kind of behaviours didn’t happen.
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I agree that always giving 5 stars regardless of the experience is not helpful. But I think the intention is to suggest that guests not expect the cleanliness and tidiness of a 5-star hotel. These are lived-in homes. Please guests, just be reasonable. Every speck of dust under each bed may not always be caught by the hosts when prepping a home. Some rooms might be somewhat cluttered with kids toys, etc. 5 stars should not mean “100% spotless and sterilized with no clutter”. In my opinion, it should mean 90-100% spotless and don’t worry about clutter as long as the host has left you reasonably sufficient space to settle-in.
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Yes I completely agree with this very considered reply. Thank you 
Of course we cannot give 5 stars if you believe the standards to be completely under par. I think giving a star rating without any explanation or further context would not work well, but with a detailed description of why you have given those ratings it then works well.
I agree with everything you say here.