If you’re a regular home exchanger, you already know that communication is key to increasing your chances of finding the right exchange. We believe that a well-written request message strengthens connections between members and boosts the chances of finding the ideal exchange partner.
That’s why we’ve just redesigned the request message section of the platform.
The Ideal First Message
Sending an exchange request isn’t just about asking whether “the home is available.” It’s also about introducing yourself and sharing a few words about why you’re interested in that house or region. After all, we’re asking people we don’t know yet to lend us their home—so introducing ourselves and talking about our plans is the least we can do 
Our data and your feedback have shown us that these ideas aren’t always well understood by new members, who sometimes send brief, impersonal messages. To address this—and to embed HomeExchange’s values and principles right from the start—we’ve made this improvement.
Here’s what’s new to help with writing your messages:
- Community Tips: helpful advice from the HomeExchange community for writing effective requests.
- Request Templates: a ready-to-use message model, specially designed to guide new members (if you don’t see it, don’t worry—it only appears for brand-new members who haven’t sent many requests yet. As you can see in the image, it’s not a pre-written message, but rather reminders of what an ideal message should include).
- Coming Soon: Smart Alerts: a pop-up window will soon help prevent very short messages from being sent.
As always, feel free to let us know what you think!
