I have seen people listing places with ONE BEDROOM with 7 or 9 people !!! I have asked the CEO - pls on renewal to ask for a PHOTO of each bed ( numbered ) and each room , seems people are bumping up beds for additional points. another option would be to ādeductā 10 points for each unused bed - if a house id worth 250 for 8 people and only 2 come - then 60 points would be deducted - hence people would not push up guest numbers for points !!!
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I completely disagree with you on this. We are exchanging our homes, not ā renting out sleeping space for guestpoints '. There is more to a home than the number of beds. Obviously members shouldnāt put 9 beds for one bedroom, but if noone accepted to exchange with them theyād soon learn!
I have a 4 bedroomed home ( listed as 3 as one room isnāt included. ) There are 3 double beds so technically for 6 people. If I receive a request for 2 people ( which is often the case) I feel no obligation to reduce the points because they arenāt using all the beds. They see what is available when they request my home. The number of points they choose to use is their business and noone elseās!
Would you expect me to remove 4 of the 6 dining chairs too? And should I lock access to one of the bathrooms and WC? Maybe I should remove some of my outdoor sitting and dining areas and just leave 2 knives and forks in the kitchen?
A good listing will show photos and give details of all the rooms and beds ( I detail the size of beds too). The solution is to only send requests for detailed listings that correspond to your search, then to communicate with the hosts about what your needs are. The solution isnāt to try and change the process for the good and successful exchangers amongst us because of others who are abusing the system.
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Susan
Even if you received 40 points less for two guests - you would still give a substantial amount for your place but I have no issue keeping the existing system
I am agnostic to what solution is chosen - but am raising the issue of people ā adding ā beds for points only and no central control to manage a clean process for evaluating the property.
My home is estimated at 249 by HE but I offer it for 190-220. But thatās my choice, if I had to lower points for less guests I just wouldnāt offer it.
The solution for all the problems of too many beds, too many points, heating fees, hugh cleaning fees is for every member to apply the rules. Serious exchangers should only exchange with members that respect the rules. Unfortunately certain accept to pay high fees or high points in order to secure a prime location. Iāve never had a problem, but I select my guests and hosts carefully and communicate well.
Hi - If your house if evaluated at 249 and you are offering it for less - basically you are crediting people ( for whatever reason ) which with revised mechanism you would get same points ,
I suggested one off these options
A) Either photos of each room and bed on renewal
B) A small deduction for ālesserā use of the property ( less guests )
in order to eradicate the over inflation of capacity ,
ps also do not allow 0 Sq Meter as an option
I have seen a house in Provence, 70 m2, with sleeping for 8, hence 257 GP. There is only 1 room and 1 real bed. The rest is a loft/mezzanine with 4 modular sofa beds and floor mattresses, and a double sofa bed in the small living room, so 6 intotal all in one space, no privacy. This is clearly a cheat, playing the system!!
A moderator had posted that a crackdown (by home size) was coming soon ā¦ where is that at ?
Denis - Agree - lets start with a numbered picture of every room and every bed !
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Bonjour SusanJbrn
I think that OdedM is trying to say is that some people are not fair.
I contacted a listing in Marseille with 2 bedrooms as set in my search criteria.
But there was a photo of 1 bedroom.
When i asked information about the 2nd bedroom, it did not exist.
It was the sofa bed in the living room.
Some people are cheating to get more points.
Thatās a fact and what OdedM underlines is that HE should take actions.
Exchange is based on trust.
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This is my personal record. 427GP in NYC 
(Sorry, images in French)
(Iāve reported it and beds are down to 10 which is still wrong but wellā¦)
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I have found a family that has 3 properties in Spain and pool them to maximize points and offering access to any of the 3x flat through the one single HE account. Iām not sure this should be allowed. Iām new to HE and think that some of the rules need to be made clearer. I donāt see any problem for a HE host asking for a higher points value, as itās been pointed out, if itās not worth it guests wonāt book it. So perhaps more freedom to adjust the algorithm and set higher points would stop some of the exaggerated claims on HE.
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You can have more than one property on HE usually they are listed seperately and sometimes also together. I am not sure what you saw was they want the same if you take the main house and the cottages or just letting people know what all was available.
Have you considered the effect this could have on those searching for 2 or 4 an also for solo travellers? My home has 3 good size double bedrooms. If I have to reduce the points according to the number of bedrooms/spaces being used I will not be willing to go to all the effort of preparing my entire home and so will have to refuse requests that donāt use all 3 bedrooms. Itās kitchens, bathrooms and living spaces that take the most prep.
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I used to rent a house and lock off one room. I had people use that room. Basically there is no guarantee people will just use what they say they will use. Also as long as guests have the house to themselves you have to go somewhere else so you basically need the points to go there. I think beds/bedrooms should be part of the equation. Really cracking down on people who do this falsification of info is what needs to happen.
Certainly this should not happen. We do of course encourage members to report any listings which incorrectly list more beds than they have. This can be done easily by clicking on āreport and abuseā on their listing.
@odedM I have just make a suggestion in the suggestion box saying exactly the same . HE should make sure that all the spaces in a house have a picture, not only bedrooms and beds , And possibly also all the extras that add points to a home, like parking, pool, garden, etc. More transparence would be really great both, to give a more accurate view of the house and to decrease cheating.
Gosh! Thank you for reporting this, it is obviously an abuse of the system, which is such a shame 