What I particularly like is finding out what visits our guests liked or what they enjoyed discovering around my home. You always get new ideas about what is nice to see where you live, places that are just round the corner and you still don't know. I will always remember our Spanish hosts from Andalucia telling us about "Beloeil Castle" just 30 minutes from our home. We were very curious about it and decided to visit it on a Sunday afternoon. We were amazed! We didn't know such a beautiful castle existed in our area!
What country are you from?
Belgium
What were some of your biggest fears when hosting another member?
I didn't hesitate really, I knew that it was something I wanted to do. Probably the biggest fear I had and that I still have is that my exchange gets cancelled and I have already bought my plane tickets.
How did you overcome this fear?
For instance the GuestPoints system is really good on that matter since if something happens at the last minute, you can still ask for someone to host you with GuestPoints and the Home Exchange team is also there to help, so you shouldn't worry about that. As for us, we have completed more than 90 exchanges and none have ever been cancelled!
Have you hosted members from different countries?
With over 90 exchanges throughout the world for the past 5 years, we have hosted hundreds of people from Europe, the US and Australia.
Tell us about a memorable experience with a guest...
We have dozens of memorable experiences with guests, but the one we particularly liked was being invited for dinner during a non-simultaneous exchange in Cairns, Australia. We had hosted the family while we were away in Spring and the Australian family invited us for dinner while we were using their secondary home in Cardwell, Queensland in the Summer. It was great meeting them all! We shared a lovely dinner prepared by our host, Alicia. We talked about their trip to Belgium and they gave us very good tips for our own visits on the Cassowary Coast! My husband doesn't speak too much English but we had good laughs and a fantastic time all together!
How do you prepare your home for your Guests?
I always send my guests our own home and region guide so they can think about what they would like to visit when they are here. They can read my suggestions and ask questions if they like. Then, of course we leave little gifts from our region (Belgian beer and chocolate) and tourist brochures and maps.
What did you realize after you hosted for the first time?
I just realized that I would never rent a house anymore, I would always try to find a HomeExchange. Home exchanges really suit our whole family, our kids get to stay in houses where other kids live, we get to know other people and other cultures "from the inside", and we get to discover incredible places completely "off the beaten tracks", destinations we would never have thought of but that really gave us the best memories ever.
Would you like to see the world and meet new and interesting people?
