All about GuestPoints
Thanks to GuestPoints, reciprocal exchanges are no longer the only option!
What are GuestPoints?
GuestPoints are a points-based system that has been created to make the organization of exchanges more flexible, and to thank hosts for their hospitality.
It's simple: you obtain GuestPoints by hosting members in your home, and you can then use them to stay with other members. Intrigued?
We'll explain everything!
How does it work exactly?
When you host members whose homes you don't plan to visit, they give you GuestPoints in exchange for your hospitality.
You can then collect and use these GuestPoints to visit other members' homes, in the destination of your choice, at a time that suits you.
For example
Pedro from Mexico sends you a request to stay at your home in Boston for the festive season. You already know Mexico, so you don't especially want to go to Pedro's.
However, you're spending the holidays with your family, so your home will be available on the dates Pedro is interested in.
➡️ You can therefore welcome him to your home in exchange for GuestPoints, which you can use to stay at John's cabin in the mountains in February or Raphaël's in the south of France in July...
How can you obtain GuestPoints?
By hosting members in your home
The main way to obtain GuestPoints is by hosting members of our community. This is the basis (and the magic) of HomeExchange: you welcome people into your home, so you can travel in return.
In other words, it's very simple: the more you host, the more you travel (and often meet extraordinary people in the process).
Thanks to your welcome gift
You receive 800 Welcome GuestPoints after you sign up and complete your home listing to 100%.
It's our way of helping you get started and encouraging you to introduce yourself to the community.
Thanks to the membership bonus
You will also receive a 500 GP bonus to top up your welcome GuestPoints when you pay for your membership for the first time.
It's our way of celebrating the fact that you've officially joined our community!
Go away for about a week with your welcome GuestPoints!
With your 800 welcome GuestPoints combined with the 500 GuestPoints bonus you receive when you activate your membership, you can enjoy a 5 to 10-night stay with members of our community!
How many GuestPoints will I receive when I host?
When you host members, they give you a certain number of GuestPoints per night, in exchange for your hospitality.
The number of GuestPoints you receive depends on the number of nights your guests stay, and the GuestPoints value of your home.
How is this value defined?
Travel should always be a safe, convenient and comfortable experience. To champion this, we use three universal criteria to determine your home's GuestPoints value:
The location of your home and its proximity to tourist attractions
That's why an honest and accurate description of your home is essential to providing the best possible experience for everyone.
It's not about money
It's a way of showing gratitude for the time a host has spent preparing their home and the welcome they're offering.
GuestPoints are not a virtual representation of the value of your home on the rental or property market.
It's about being fair and encouraging diversity, making new discoveries, celebrating our differences and sharing experiences.
GuestPoints do not promote profit.
Tackling misconceptions
It's my primary residence, so I can only do reciprocal exchanges.
FALSE
If you want to free up your home to welcome guests, you can stay with other HomeExchange members yourself in exchange for GuestPoints, or take advantage of the opportunity to stay with relatives. Alternatively you could even welcome guests into a private room in your home while you're also staying there!
Reciprocal exchanges are safer than exchanges for GuestPoints.
FALSE
All HomeExchange members are both hosts and guests at one time or another. So whatever the type of exchange, they'll look after your home with the same respect and kindness they'd like to see shown to their own.
I can only organize exchanges with homes of the same value
FALSE
HomeExchange is first and foremost an exchange of free hospitality and the discovery of the world in a more local way. And there are other things that may be important to your potential exchange partners: the location or decoration of your home, the dates on which you can welcome them and more.
In the beginning, “traditional” home exchanges were the only option
When you first hear about home exchanges, you probably think of the traditional reciprocal exchange, i.e. “you come to my place and I'll come to yours”. Just think of Cameron Diaz and Kate Winslet's characters in the romantic comedy The Holiday.
Thanks to GuestPoints, reciprocal exchanges are no longer the only option!
You can collect GuestPoints by welcoming guests into your home, when for whatever reason you won't be staying at their place.
You can then use these GuestPoints for your next stay, wherever and whenever you like.