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!
Hi Michelle,
I feel your pain.
I have recently joined Home Exchange (following a recommendation from a friend who lives in London). We have been looking for any type of exchange in London and Paris for Christmas and New Year 2025/2026.
We have made over 30 requests to London properties in the last month and received only 5 responses all saying no (despite 1 indicating availability for our time frames). I know home owners have the right to refuse but the crappy response rate is just frustrating. We got our hopes up with 1 positive response, but that turned out to be a scam property. I’m regretting joining Home Exchange as it seems a waste of money, time and effort.
Please let me know if you have any tips for success. I’m sorry I don’t have any for you.
Hi Sarah,
Thanks for your response! No need to apologize, I’m happy to help. So, although we had to pay for it, we found a wonderful place in London on Booking.com for our trip. But I do have some tips for you! Please don’t give up on Home Exchange! Yes, some cities can be challenging…prime example, of course, London! But on that same trip that we had to pay for London accommodation, we found a great Home Exchange with a wonderful host in Paris! Also, the holidays are tough as well. Many people don’t want to be away from home over the holidays. But please don’t let that sour your whole experience with HE!
Last March, shortly after we joined HE we took a 3-week trip through Denmark, Spain and Portugal. On that entire trip, we did not spend a penny on accommodations! We stayed in an exquisitely decorated flat, a short walk from the sea with a view of the Castle in Alicante, Spain and a sparkling clean and cozy place with a view of the river in Lisbon. We also stayed in Madrid, Barcelona and Copenhagen…all HE! We surely saved thousands of dollars!
Did it take some work to arrange? Yes, but it was fun! I sent many requests, with quite a few rejections. But I was determined!
Tip: Avoid reaching out to hosts with low response rates. For me, if it’s less than 75%, I don’t bother. Also…beds are a big deal to me. If the beds look messy, no thank you! If they can’t be bothered to straighten the bed for the photos, that’s a red flag for me.
So, just a year after we joined HE we are so happy we did! We’re leaving soon for a family trip to Arizona and will stay in a beautiful 5 bedroom lake house that rents for hundreds per night on AirBnd, but is free to us on HE. Next month, my best friend and I are taking a girls trip and staying in an ocean view condo in San Clemente, California. I love the fact that I could save us the accommodation expense! Our own home is in high demand so we now have more than 8000 points and look forward to free accommodation travel for years to come! So, again, I say stay the course…you will reap the benefits!
Let me know if you have any other questions.
Michelle
Hi Lisa,
I just now saw your link, thank you so much! I just don’t see how people think you’ll just disregard the children; your notice is so clear!
Anyway, we have some things in common! I’m also 63 and just a few years away from retirement, after which my husband and I plan to travel extensively…spending as much time away from the U.S. as possible! As I mentioned, with our grandson (really our 3rd child) in the U.K. we could use a consistent place to stay (when available) and your place looks wonderful!
I favorited you and hope we can make it happen at some point. Please let me know if you ever want to spend some time within a stones throw of the ocean. Our place is amazing!
Thanks again!
Michelle