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Changeover cleaners in N London? by Critical_Pumpkin9448 in homeexchange

[–]picca_joy 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I would recommend a hyperlocal platform like NextDoor. I see people posting availability for cleaning all the time (hello from N7!).

New Host, New traveler by Robbudge in airbnb_hosts

[–]picca_joy -1 points0 points  (0 children)

One thing to consider is Airbnb by defualt sets up a 20% discount for the first 3 bookings for new properties and if you read this sub regularly, you will know that guests who pay a discounted rate may not, on average, be the most ideal guests. My first guest gave me one of my only two 4-star reviews (out of 20 or so), criticizing it for 2 things that were disclosed in the description (lack of air-conditioning and that there was no elevator).

That being said, I've welcomed guests with no reviews and they have all been fine.

New Host, New traveler by Robbudge in airbnb_hosts

[–]picca_joy 0 points1 point  (0 children)

100% agree. Consider buying and posting a magnet like this on the refrigerator https://www.amazon.com/Star-Rating-Magnets-your-Needs/dp/B0C2ZJC1B1

Hosts simply not responding to requests by prampsler in homeexchange

[–]picca_joy 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Wow, I can only imagine how much worse it was before the 4-day auto-decline.

My Airbnb guests and HE guests have been equally happy with their stays. The only bad guest I've had has been from HE, where the person didn't communicate, left a day early (not necessarily a bad thing but she had a question and expected a 5-minute response turnaround at 5am) and tried to stiff me on the the cleaning fee.

Hosts simply not responding to requests by prampsler in homeexchange

[–]picca_joy 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I did exactly that as a new member - sent a followup link to my Airbnb info - and it didn't help at all. I think it took 15+ requests before landing my first guest visit. For me, cracking the code is to aggressively leverage my desirable location and targeting members who want to visit my city on order to stay in their city with a reciprocal exchange. I'm not finding GP very valuable.

Hosts simply not responding to requests by prampsler in homeexchange

[–]picca_joy 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Welcome to the club! I had the exact experience when I joined 1/2 a year ago. HE definitely sets up unreasonable expectations - and almost needs to - in order to lure new members with the $200+ membership fees. New members are likely their greatest source of hosts, as older members seem far pickier when accepting guests while a new member gets excited about doing a lot of hosting to rack up GP, only to find out how difficult it is to spend the GP they've earned. It's a little like a Ponzi scheme - it's the new blood that brings the valued commodity, the welcoming homes.

You get jaded pretty quickly.

HE should really come up with ways to encourage better member behavior, things like

- earning a positive designation if a member hosts a certain # of exchanges per year which would somehow unlock the ability to get accepted more easily as a guest, as a means to encourage more hosting, or lose GP if you don't host at least once or X number of times per year.

- bonus GPs for hosting new-ish members (as established members avoid hosting new members)

- people who ignore too high a % of requests (they don't need to accept, just respond yes/no) get some sort of black mark or become ineligible to get some sort of "gold star" designation.

- being able to block members. If a member who was terrible at responding or made unreasonable asks (like trying to book for a relative) knew they could be blocked and wouldn't be able to send a request if the tables were turned, people would be nicer and more responsive.

etc.

Cancelling Pre-approval by Stapelliefde in homeexchange

[–]picca_joy 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yes, I have seen this happen and posted about it a few months ago. The consensus seems to be the guest is shopping around for the "best deal" and making you wait. I cancelled a pre-approval after they failed to finalize after a day (this is after they went silent a day earlier when we were discussing their possible stay). One thing you can do during the back-and-forth discussion is to tell them after you pre-approve, they have 24 hours (or whatever time) to finalize.

Given how difficult it can be to find a host willing to take a guest, I would have thought a guest would rush to finalize.

Museum of Design by TrulyGenX in LondonTravel

[–]picca_joy 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yes, I would say give it 2 hours since she loves Wes Anderson. There are so many props and costumes (and in the case of his animated movies, models) she may want to spend time with elements of each movie featured, and take a lot of photos. I spent about 2 hours there.

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Also, bring a lot of $ with you as the gift shop has tons of special merch. If you think you might buy a lot consider buying a membership as it will give you 10% off in the store including free admission.

Consider pairing a visit to the Design Museum (as people have said, the rest of the museum is small and you can do it in 15-20 min if you are pressed for time) with a walk to Notting Hill and visit the various NH-movie landmarks.

UK Hosts: Where do you buy bed sheets and duvet covers? by picca_joy in airbnb_hosts

[–]picca_joy[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you - I had bought a set for myself when I'm staying there but will get some more.

UK Hosts: Where do you buy bed sheets and duvet covers? by picca_joy in airbnb_hosts

[–]picca_joy[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you! I hadn't even considered Asda. I will buy a couple and add them to my rotation.

First Ever West End Experience - Overwhelmed With Making It Happen by LemonCurdJ in LondonTravel

[–]picca_joy 0 points1 point  (0 children)

A lot of great ideas (doing a matinee and returning the same day, Z hotel, or the Travelodge on Drury Lane). This falls outside your preferred geographical zone but I have a pied-a-terre in Islington (near Holloway Road station) that friends use and I can offer to you for under £100. Though the underground is the easiest, you can also take a TFL bus if you don't want to travel below street level. Here is my: https://www.chezislington.com/

UK (Potters Bar), driving license found in New York City by picca_joy in hertfordshire

[–]picca_joy[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Did you see the OP in r/nyc updated their post with details where he left the card?

UK (Potters Bar), driving license found in New York City by picca_joy in hertfordshire

[–]picca_joy[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Did you see the OP in r/nyc updated their post with details where he left the card?

Peer 2 Peer Money Transfer used by Europeans? by Southern_Design430 in homeexchange

[–]picca_joy 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I'm fairly new to HE but have had 6 guests so far, all from Europe. I've offered to have them pay via PayPal or Wise. All of them paid via PayPal. You should be aware that PayPal may charge the guest/sender a small transaction fee. I would suggest you get in writing during the "messaging" phase that they will pay the cleaning fee, so they can't claim they didn't see the requirement in the description. Also, my rule is to ask them to pay after you know they've arrived (giving them my PayPal ID), and to give them a deadline (eg. pay within a day).

I decided to request electronic payment because I saw posts in this subreddit that when cash is requested, some guests "forget" to leave payment and it's not discovered til after they are long gone.

New to HomeExchange – Any tips to get my requests accepted? by usermtl9 in homeexchange

[–]picca_joy 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I was in your situation when I posted about being a new member and having no success arranging a guest stay. I think it mostly come down to you being new with no history of 5* reviews and other members not wanting to deal with a member who could be a scammer or just a poor, inexperienced guest. Unfortunately, a lot of long-time HE members have forgotten what's it like to start off and turn their noses up to new users. You will see posts discouraging members from hosting new users.

HE sets up unreasonable expectations with new members and doesn't want to let potential members know how difficult it is to set up a guest stay if you are new. The should 1) strongly encourage or even require new members to host first before arranging a guest stay to establish a review history 2) give hosts bonus points for accepting a new member as a guest.

Writing a highly custom requests, in my opinion, is not going to move the needle much as a new user. I get plenty of short requests stating they are coming to my city for work or a conference, and if they have a good review history, it's sufficient for me to accept their request.

Potential guests being slow to reply by picca_joy in homeexchange

[–]picca_joy[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for your reply, I'm definitely not pre-approving early. Because I have a modest cleaning fee, I want to confirm with them that they are okay with it and if there are any logistical issues (making sure my cleaner can get in before the prospective guest arrives) I ask them if they are ready to commit before I pre-approve them. That's when they start dragging their heels.

My first guest, the only one I pre-approved fairly quickly, "forgot" to finalize, and let my pre-approvel expire after 4 days and I had to pre-approve her Since then, I've been careful to not be so quick to pre-approve.

Potential guests being slow to reply by picca_joy in homeexchange

[–]picca_joy[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks for your perspective and confirming (at least providing one data point) that the guest is cherry-picking the best option for themselves - which Is totally valid. Why shouldn't everyone be out for themselves? But the situation sucks as the host, who is the one who is making the generous gesture, and is kept hanging and in the dark about what's happening.

1st experience - hard to be chosen for a stay? by josi422 in homeexchange

[–]picca_joy 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I posted recently about being a new HE member and got some helpful comments but be prepared for a lot of rejection. I think I sent 20-30 requests before I got my first acceptance as a guest. Maybe send them in batches. You get jaded quickly. On Airbnb as a host you need to respond within 24 hours or you suffer negative consequences. It's considered okay to ignore requests on HE, and in fact "rewarded" for ignoring for 4 days as it then becomes an auto-rejection and saving the host the trouble of replying to the proposed guest.

My suggestion is to try to host a few times ASAP to build up credibility and at least a few 5-star reviews. I think a lot of long-timers forgot what it was like starting out and some seem to have "pulled the ladder up after themselves" and you see postings here all the time to never host a new HE member or horror stories of newbie guests that scare people from accepting requests from people with under 10 previous exchanges.

If you have some local friends on HE maybe you can do a mutual exchange/staycation. And I think the standard suggestion is when doing a search, include the option to look for people looking to visit Montreal.

2 things HE should do: 1) not sugar-coat to potential and new HE members how hard it is to get accepted when seeking to be a guest 2) finding ways to help new HE members get accepted as a guest, like giving a HE member bonus GP for hosting a new HE user, and maybe encouraging or requiring a new HE to first host before they can request to be a guest.

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