One request, done right: how trust opened the doors to the Pyrenees, then Singapore

At HomeExchange, we love letting the people who know best do the talking: our members. Audrey, a member since 2019 with 38 exchanges under her belt, shares how she and her family secured two highly sought-after exchanges, in the Pyrenees and then in Singapore, with just one personalized request each time.

At HomeExchange, points make travel possible. But it’s trust that lets someone open their home to you. We’ve just experienced this again.

Two trips, very few available homes

For New Year’s, we wanted to take the family to one very specific ski resort in the Pyrenees. On our dates, only one home was available in the resort we wanted.

We took the time to look at the family’s profile, their home, their past exchanges, their reviews... then we sent a single, personalized request. It was accepted.

For next summer, we had another project: a week in Singapore, followed by Malaysia. On our dates, only three homes were available in Singapore.

We followed the same approach: taking the time to choose the right home and, above all, to understand who we were reaching out to. One request, accepted again.

Both were points-based exchanges.

What it really means for the family hosting us

What strikes us most is what this means, concretely, for the family hosting us. They aren’t simply lending us “a home.” They’re entrusting us with the keys to their house, their personal belongings, their bedrooms and living spaces, the place where they live every day, and ultimately, a small piece of their privacy.

And as they read our message, they must be thinking: “I don’t know them... but I think I can trust them.”

Why preparation matters so much

That’s why we believe the time spent preparing beforehand is essential.

We read their profile to understand who they are. When possible, we look at the profiles of people who have already stayed with them, to see what kind of travelers they usually host. We read the reviews to understand how past exchanges went and what seems to matter most to them.

We also work on our own profile, because the host needs to get a sense of our family before opening their door to us.

And above all, we write a personalized message. Not just to say we like their home, but to show them that we’ve taken the time to get to know them, that we understand how they like to travel, and that we want to take care of their home the way we’d want someone to take care of ours.

And yes, that takes time. But we’d rather spend twenty minutes getting to know a family and writing them a real message than send twenty identical requests.

Asking a different question

Because in the end, when there’s only one home available, or just three, the question is no longer: “How do I make sure I’m the first to ask?”

It’s rather: “How do I earn enough trust from this family that they say yes to us?”

Points make the exchange possible. The profile reassures. Past exchanges reassure. Reviews reassure. The message creates a connection. And all of that builds trust.

What we love most about HomeExchange

This is probably what we love most about HomeExchange: we’re not anonymously booking a house. A family chooses to trust us and entrusts us with their home.

And once again this year, that trust will let us live some truly beautiful family moments: the Pyrenees for New Year’s, then Singapore and Malaysia next summer. All of it with just two requests.

Our advice

Take the time to prepare your request. Because on HomeExchange, sometimes, one good request is worth more than fifty copy-pasted ones.