Chances are, when you’re working on your home listing, you’re wondering how HomeExchange calculates how many GuestPoints your home is worth. Which amenities add value, and why are some homes the same amount of space, but differ in GuestPoints value? If these questions leave you scratching your head, we put together a guide to give you an idea of how we calculate the GuestPoints per night for each home.
Discover HomeExchangeWhat are GuestPoints?
If you’re just now hearing about HomeExchange, you may be wondering what GuestPoints even are. GuestPoints allow members to experience a different way of exchanging: Instead of the reciprocal exchange (I go to your home and you go to mine), you can use GuestPoints to stay at someone’s home without them having to come to yours. Conversely, if your home has availability and someone makes an offer to home swap with them and you don’t want to visit their region, you can allow them to stay at your home in exchange for GuestPoints, which you can then use for another non-reciprocal exchange.
When creating your listing, your home’s value in GuestPoints will be calculated depending on your home’s location, the amenities offered, and more. The GuestPoints valuation of your home is calculated by our algorithm based on certain criteria that we feel fit our company mission: to make travel affordable, safe and flexible for everyone.
Something else to keep in mind: The GuestPoints system was not designed to maximize profitability or earnings, to have any monetary value, or be compared to other homes, but to create a more fluid system of exchanges and increase the number of opportunities our members have to travel.To learn more, keep on reading.
How are GuestPoints calculated for each home?
HomeExchange uses our very own algorithm to calculate the number of GuestPoints guests should pay each night for a specific home. So, what factors into the algorithm? The answer is many things, including square footage, location, amenities, and how many beds/how many people the home can accommodate. For example, a home with a pool may be given a higher GuestPoints per night amount than a home that does not have one. A home with central air conditioning (especially during the summer or if it's in a hot location) may have more GuestPoints added to its value than one that does not.
Location is also key in determining how many GuestPoints per night to value a home. Homes in a high tourist area will probably ask for more GuestPoints than more rural or obscure areas. That doesn’t mean that you have to be in a big city to home exchange, it just means that the urban home will be in a tourist hotspot and may receive many requests based on the number of people who travel there every year.
How many people your home can accommodate is also key, since it correlates to how much space and how many more guests can visit your home. It makes sense that if you have a home that can host a lot of people, your home will be listed with more GuestPoints because your listing will attract larger groups and families. As such, more GuestPoints makes sense to make up for the effort it takes to prepare a home for multiple people as opposed to just one or two.
Plan your trip with HomeExchangeCan I increase or decrease the amount of GuestPoints that my home is worth?
Fun fact: You can adjust the amount of GuestPoints per night that your home is worth by 30 GP in either direction. So, if you think the algorithm overvalued your home, you can lower the amount of GuestPoints by 30 to more accurately reflect your valuation of your home. Conversely, if you believe that your home should be worth more GuestPoints than the algorithm calculated, you can raise the amount by 30 GP to better reflect its value.
What if I have more questions about the GuestPoints value of my home?
If you have more questions about GuestPoints, the valuation of your home, or if you believe the GuestPoints valuation was miscalculated, don’t hesitate to reach out to member support. We have several different ways to contact us, whether by email, form, or through our lovely chat ambassadors! If you’d like to read more about GuestPoints and HomeExchange, you can check out our FAQ and see if we’ve already answered your question.
Travel with HomeExchangeNow that you’re armed with the knowledge of how HomeExchange calculates GuestPoint value for each home, try taking another look at your profile to see if you missed any amenities that could affect its value. With the help of our algorithm, you’ll be able to exchange homes with other members of our community confidently and travel with complete peace of mind.
