What is going on? I have applied for at least 20 exchanges in London for September 14-18, 2024.
Almost all showing clear availability on their calendar and I only apply to those who have high response rates. All rejections.
Many don’t even bother to hit the automated response. Just nothing. I’m an experienced home exchanger and sought after house/pet sitter, so this is really perplexing.
Has anyone else experienced this?
Thank in advance.
Michelle
We have not personally tried to secure an exchange in London, but we recently stayed with a HE host and they reported the same problem. Is this a “London thing”?
Bonjour Mathilde,
There is nothing unusual.
The « thing » is that NYC and London receive so many requests that they don’t always take the time to reply them all.
They only go further with requests that interest them.
Did you try the reverse search to see who could be interested in coming to your area?
For GPs, Paris and London are difficult because it is often there main home so they have to find an exchange elsewhere before accepting your request.
Moreover, as the appartments are smaller than outside the capital, they have less GP to find an exchange.
Put London in your favorite and one day you could have a good surprise.
Thank you for your response Nathalie!
I’ve had my London search as a favorite for months now… no surprises yet.
But thanks for the idea about the reverse search. I had not thought of that. I actually had no trouble at all finding a home exchange in Paris so perhaps I was just lucky.
Thanks,
Michelle
There are less than 1500 members in London compared to over 9000 in Paris.
Really sorry you are not getting responses from London hosts. I reply to every request but often do hit the automated button to save time. And have spent most of the year with my calendar deactivated so as not to waste people’s time. I wonder if the issue is with a 4 day stay. Most homes in London are primary homes and personally I find it too much work to organise the house for a short stay. But whatever the reason, people should respond.
Great info! Wish we had access to these stats 
If you do a research for London with no dates and no filters you can see how many listing there are , then the same search for anywhere else.
I have sent 100+ requests for a 1 week exchange with my home in Milan, have been searching for months now but got no positive answers 
Did you find a place eventually?
Hi,
No we didn’t. Had to pay for an appointment through booking.com.
It was a very nice place but not cheap.
Thanks.
You do! Just do a search with no filters and no dates, you’ll see the number of offers.
A good tip Susan 
It’s just as much work for us to prepare our homes for a weekend as it is for those in London.
Lately, I feel like my house is treated as a country retreat by those from the city with no reciprocal offers in exchange.
Hi Michelle
I have a large house in centralish London. I get many requests and I try to respond quickly to all. My listing clearly states in three different places that we don’t accept children under 12, yet I’d say 50% of the requests include small children. It is so frustrating! Because I get so many requests, I’m always looking for more informational requests that show they have read my listing and provide a little more info about the requester. Not sure if that helps answer your question or if any of that applies to you, but maybe it does.
Hi Lisa!
Thanks for your response but I don’t think that’s it. As an attorney, I’m very attentive to detail. But I understand what you’re saying. While we love dogs we can’t accommodate them but we still get requests even though our profile clearly states. I’m wondering if you would be willing to send me a link to your place? We are bringing our grandson to UNI later this year and would love someone like you to consider an exchange with, especially since we fell in love with London during our trip in September. Thanks!
Bear in mind, they receive So many requests in London, they can pick and choose. Your request is for 3 to 4 days only, myself, in Montreal, I very rarely accept that, not worth the bother. Sorry, but thought the candour might be helpful. Best of luck!