What do people do about meeting guests at their house? Sometimes when we exchange for GPs we are in town for part of the time, and may come by to bring the trash to the curb , or to get something from our storage space, (which is totally separated feom the house, but on the property).
We have been informing folksnabout this but is it intrusive? Do other people try to be friendly and meet their guests?
I never had this exact situation, We received guests for a weekend once and were staying in our town ourselves. We received the guests and told them about our house and showed them around. Then we left and didn’t see them again.
If I have guests, they bring the trash to the curb.
If I had to be at my home I wouldn’t just tell my guests, but would ask then if they’d want to meet up or not. That way, it can be their choice. It seems a bit weird just to inform them that you’re there but not making an attempt of seeing them, I think.
It’s weird to me that meeting guests isn’t more common on this platform. There is all this talk about the cultural exchange involved in Home exchange and to me meeting the guests would fit in with that but it doesn’t seem like that is part of the HE culture. It may only be something people do it a hospitality exchange.
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I always make an offer to meet my guests if we are in town or nearby. But I fully leave it up to them. I don’t go to my home during the exchange unless I’m invited or, if we have arranged it in order to water my outdoor flower beds. And in those situations, I stay outdoors and don’t go inside. (Sometimes my exchangers are happy to water for me 
).
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I prefer to welcome the exchanger(s) when they arrive, but if I can’t, then I have a neighbor meet with them to show them the important things: locks, lighting, GFI, recycling, etc. We do not go back into our place unless it is arranged with the exchangers.
We have had meet ups with our exchangers when we are in town and we’ve found these times to be a great way to talk about our exchange experiences.
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My first Home Exchange experience was with a person in NYC. After I finalized my first exchange, we had a zoom or Skype video call, which he suggested. It was really nice to put a real face to the host. He walked around that apartment and showed me some really basic and crucial things, talked about leaving his apartment clean for the next guest, “you are the host now”. It was terrific. I don’t always do this myself, but only because I sometimes forget to suggest it…
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What’s the policy or rule of thumb around booking a stay for GP for a close family member or friend to stay in your place? It’s a friend’s birthday and I want to book for them. Is that okay? I would of course be up front with the host and take responsibility for my friend.
Not allowed at all if you are not with your Friend. https://help.homeexchange.com/hc/en-us/articles/360011893118-Can-I-finalize-an-exchange-for-a-friend-extended-family-member-using-my-account
PS : we don’t Say “Book exchanges” , it’s not renting 
Hello Shabrese
If your friend is interested in exchanging homes, you can sponsor him.
This gives advantages to you and him.
However to use Homeexchange for parties is not exactly what most hosts expect from their guests even if some hosts with a big house are used to welcome family homecoming.
Yes that makes total sense. What is a sponsor? Is that different than a referral?
No it’s the same. The friend uses your sponsor link when he becomes a member of HomeExchange. Now, befóre the 30th of September, is a very good time, for the amount of Guest Points extra given is double the amount normally given to sponsor and referree.
Thank you for providing the link that explains this situation. I previously tried unsuccessfully to find where this was addressed. I had a similar situation occur and wasn’t sure whether to report. I arranged a week exchange with a HE member and 4 other family members. When I returned it became clear that the HE member had only spent one day in my home and turned it over to the others. There were a few things I found that made me uncomfortable but I let it go. Going forward I will make it clear that I expect HE members to be there during the entire time.