The first confirmation for a home exchange often feels better than any hotel booking: suddenly, a family vacation in an expensive city becomes a real, affordable option. Right at this point, the question of how the point system works usually pops up. This Instructions for the GuestPoints system HomeExchange shows you without any jargon what happens with your points and how to use them sensibly.
We don't use HomeExchange because we enjoy keeping spreadsheets. We use it because, when traveling with children, we prefer arriving at an apartment with a kitchen, a washing machine, and room to play rather than two cramped hotel rooms. The GuestPoints make it possible to travel without hosting and traveling having to happen at the same time. And for families, that is often the decisive advantage.
What actually are GuestPoints?
GuestPoints are the point currency on HomeExchange. You receive them when you host other members at your home and use them when you stay at someone else's place yourself. At first glance, this sounds like a traditional exchange, but it is much more flexible.
For example, in a direct, mutual exchange, a family from Lyon stays at your place while you are in their apartment at the same time. In this case, both parties can simply exchange with each other. However, the other option is more common: your guests want to stay in your apartment in May, but you only want to go to Copenhagen in October. In that case, you receive GuestPoints for the stay and can use them later with a completely different member.
This solves a problem we from traditional apartment swap kennen: You no longer have to coincidentally have the exact same vacation weeks and look for the exact same destination. You release your home when it suits you and travel when it suits you.
Instructions for the GuestPoints system: How your balance is created
The most important idea is simple: Your accommodation has a point value per night. This value is determined by HomeExchange based on various details, such as location, size, sleeping capacity, and amenities. A small city apartment can therefore have a different point value than a house by the lake. This is not a judgment of quality, but is meant to make the listings comparable.
When you confirm a stay and guests stay with you, you will receive the agreed-upon GuestPoints for the nights. You can clearly see what the total amount is in the request before confirming. Exactly for this reason, it is worth carefully reviewing each request rather than hastily clicking accept.
For new members, depending on the current program, there are also opportunities to earn initial points through a fully set up profile or registration. Such conditions are subject to change. Therefore, do not rely on older user reviews with fixed point values, but check your account overview directly. The basic principle remains: those who share their home build up travel budgets in the form of points.
For us, this has a pleasant side effect: an apartment that is empty anyway during your own vacation can help finance your next trip. Not as money in the bank, but as overnight stays in places that would otherwise be expensive.
Not every request needs to be perfect
Many beginners think they only have to accept requests from families who offer the exact number of points that their desired destination costs. That is not necessary. GuestPoints are not a contract with a single person, but rather a credit balance within the community.
Maybe you'll host a couple for a long weekend and earn points for two nights in a family apartment. Or you'll host a family for a week during a vacation month and use the points later for a city break. Whether this is worth it for you depends not only on the number of points, but also on how well the time period and the guests fit your needs.
How to spend your GuestPoints for your vacation
Once you have found a suitable accommodation, the points value per night is listed on the ad. Before making an inquiry, quickly calculate how many nights you can cover with your current balance. Then send a personal message mentioning who is traveling, when you would like to arrive, and why you particularly like this home.
After a confirmation, the GuestPoints for this stay are scheduled. For you, this feels like a booking, just without the nightly rate. The annual membership and the service fee per confirmed stay must be considered separately. They are part of the model and should be honestly factored into your travel planning.
Nevertheless, the difference to hotels is often enormous. Especially for four people, a week in Paris, Amsterdam, or on the Italian coast can quickly cost several thousand euros. With a home exchange, you don't pay per person and you don't pay extra for every breakfast. You live in a real home, can cook for yourselves, and usually have things on-site that are worth their weight in gold when traveling with children: a high chair, toys, a bathtub, or a second bedroom.
The point value isn't everything
A low score is attractive, but not automatically the best offer. We always also look at the location, the number of real sleeping spaces, the connections, and the hosts' rules. An apartment slightly outside the center can be the wiser choice with children if there is a park around the corner and the subway can be reached in a few minutes.
Conversely, a highly rated accommodation can be entirely worth its value if it is located in the middle of a destination you otherwise could hardly afford. A week in an apartment with a terrace, kitchen, and three bedrooms is simply different from a cheap hotel room on the outskirts of the city. The GuestPoints system does not reward the hunt for the lowest value, but rather gives you choice.
It helps to set a small points budget for each trip. Before you start searching, consider how many nights you want to travel, how many points you have available, and whether you want to save some balance for a short trip later on. This keeps the search stress-free, even if your first dream accommodation is already booked.
Four mistakes that unnecessarily cost points at the beginning
The most common mistake is an incomplete personal profile. Anyone expected to host guests wants to see who is coming and what the apartment looks like. Good photos, honest descriptions, and clear information about sleeping arrangements build trust. This not only increases the chance of receiving requests, but also of getting acceptances for your own travels.
The second mistake: booking only very last minute. Being spontaneous can work, especially outside of school holidays. However, for popular destinations and holiday seasons, families with flexible dates have significantly better chances when they plan early.
Thirdly, the budget is often calculated too tightly. When planning a trip, factor in not just the activities, but also the service fee, travel costs, meals, and potential extra nights. Home swapping makes vacations cheaper, but a flight to Iceland won't become free as a result, of course.
And fourthly: Communication is underestimated. A two-word inquiry looks like a mass email. A short, friendly message with your travel dates, family structure, and a specific reference to the host's home is much more convincing. People don't exchange with a point profile, but with humans.
When is being a host particularly worthwhile?
The easiest way is if your apartment is empty anyway. While you are away traveling, another family can stay at your place and you collect points without having to reorganize your daily routine. Some members also open their homes for individual weekends or during a longer visit to relatives.
You don't need to own a designer apartment for this. A well-maintained, honest, and practical family apartment is of interest to many travelers. Especially in cities in the DACH region, guests are often looking for exactly that: a home with good public transport connections, a kitchen, and enough space so they don't have to eat out every day.
Be realistic with your rules. If a room needs to remain private, state it. If you have pets or small children who require a particularly careful approach to things, communicate that openly. The best exchanges don't happen when both sides try to look perfect, but when expectations are clear beforehand.
My tip for the first trade
For your start, don't pick a complicated long-distance trip with ten open questions. An extended weekend in an easily accessible city can take a lot of pressure off. You learn how requests, confirmations, and the points system work, and at the same time experience why the model feels normal so quickly.
After the first stay, the perspective usually shifts. Your own apartment is then no longer just the place where you live, but also a key to travels that previously might have seemed too expensive or too impractical. Start with an honest profile, reply personally, and give the whole thing a real chance. The next travel idea is often already waiting where you previously only saw hotel prices.
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On my travel blog Wandernotizen I'll take you along on our family trips around the globe. Between wanderlust and everyday chaos, you'll find honest travel reports, tips, and plenty of material to ignite your wanderlust. 🧭 ❤️ 🏝️