SURPRISE!
The only surprises your swap partners should experience in your home are positive ones. You left them a kind welcome note with a bottle of champagne and an easy dinner? How thoughtful! You set out luxurious toiletries for the exchangers? What a nice touch. The health club passes you left for them are sure to be appreciated. What nice surprises.
Meow! You have a pet you "forgot" to mention to the swappers. Beep! Beep! Your house is ten feet away from a busy highway. Drip, drip. It has been hard to find a contractor to fix all the flood damage from the last hurricane but they don't really need to use the living room, do they?
SHARE YOUR NEWS
We sometimes write to our swap partners for months before the exchange date. Over that time, things in our homes can change. Anything different in your home, whether good or bad, should be shared with the swappers if it could possibly affect them.
Here's an email I am sending to my exchange partners, the ones who own the castle in France that I am using for my Fabulous 40th Birthday Home Exchange:
"Hope this note finds you well. I wanted to let you know about a home project we have underway. We are having a new over-the-range microwave/vent installed in the kitchen. It is unlikely it will be done by the time you get here. The only way this involves you is 1) at the moment there is no over-the-range vent fan so if you cook something smoky you will want to open the kitchen window. 2) There is a medium-sized cardboard box in the sunroom containing the microwave. 3) The contractor removed one door from the small cabinet over the fridge so he could match the finish. It doesn't seem like this really affects you, but I want to make sure it won't be an inconvenience."
Some other news briefs your swap partners might appreciate are:
* Work is being done in your building (for apartment owners) or a neighbor's house.
* Driving patterns are being affected by road work.
* Unusual weather conditions in your area.
* Changes to your home not reflected in your listing pictures.
* Subtractions or proposed additions to your swap party.
* Major changes to your home's amenities: the jacuzzi broke, you installed satellite TV, your wireless internet is broken, you've lost the garage remote.
* Fun or disruptive events occurring in your area during the exchange: a fair, a major sporting event, a parade, a national political convention, the Olympics, etc.
* Modifications to your own schedule: you're returning early and will be staying at your in-laws home for the last few days of the swap period; you're leaving town for a week the month before the exchange and won't be reachable during that time; your flight was rescheduled so you won't be able to meet the swappers after all and are mailing the keys.
KEEP TALKING
Arriving at a lovely swap house to find things are not as you were led to expect can be worse than having your expectations met at a clearly-described, though humble, home. Clear, open communication can turn a crisis into an inconvenience simply solved. The jack-hammer outside your window isn't your fault, but make sure swappers know to pack their earplugs. You couldn't say "no" when your toddler dragged home that kitten, but she can live in the garage for a week if the exchangers are allergic and didn't sign up for a sneezy vacation.
Give your swap partners only good surprises and you will always have wonderful home exchange references and memories.
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